Peace Keeper
by KaliAnn
Summary: After the terrorist attacks in France, the UN Security Council finds out about the heroes of Paris. To determine if Ladybug and Chat Noir are friends or terrorists in disguise, the Security Council decides to find out for themselves. A special secret agent is sent to investigate. Who is she and what is her unique link to the Miraculous Holders? Part one of a trilogy.
1. Government Secrets

**I don't own Miraculous Ladybug because I couldn't have come up with such a creative idea. Mentioning of the Paris Bombing is not meant to show any disrespect for the people who died or injured during the attack. Lastly, all information related to the UN and French Government is accurate as possible thanks to my source, a former French teacher, who will be helping me write this story. Thank you for your understanding and I hope you love this story which starts in the middle of the first season.**

* * *

In the United States, specifically New York City, the UN Building stood out like a beacon of hope. The building was international ground for one hundred and ninety three countries, which had joined together in the difficult task of keeping the world from falling apart. Everyone took their jobs here very seriously and met each crises as it came to the best of their abilities.

At the moment, the Security Council, was having a very serious discussion as one of its five permanent council member, France, was in hot water. The four other members; China, Russia, UK, and the USA, had brought up information that France seemed to be hiding since the Paris Bombing on November 13th 2015 or before the attack.

The members of the council watched in silence as they reviewed the footage once more of the carnage left behind by the terrorist attack. The video they had been watching had only been released to them after the three month state of emergency had come to an end. In the footage everyone could see the normal emergency responders. What was most disturbing though, was the sight of two masked strangers; a female dressed in a red and black body suit wielding a yoyo and a boy in a black leather cat suit with a baton, working to free trapped people. They were exhibiting superhuman feats and using strange abilities to help fix small problems before the duo disappeared.

The video ended and everyone was now looking at the French Representative expecting answers. The current Security Council President; Liu Jieyi opened the floor for discussion. "As we have just witnessed on this tape, the French Government has been hiding many secrets from us. According to the reports, both the French and German government stated that you had prior intelligence to the attack, but failed to act because of lacking provocation in order to do so. While it was unfortunate that you couldn't move forward, why didn't you bring up your suspicions to this Council before the attack?"

"At the time, the information was deemed classified and it wasn't within my power to procure help from this Council. My president wouldn't allow me to discuss the topic believing that the army and intelligence unit could safely prevent any attacks," The French representative responded. He glanced at his notes on how to respond to any questioning.

The light went on next to the Russian Representative lit up. He started speaking as the female translator spoke for him. "We can't change the past of what happened, but we must prepare for the future. Who were those two unsightly dressed teens and why are we just learning about them?"

The French Representative cleared his throat, responding that he had recently learned their names were Ladybug and Chat Noir, Paris own superheroes who protected the city. That answer didn't sit well with the other representatives who thought he was making a joke of the matter. He responded promptly that what he said was real as he showed a few more videos and news reports talking about their exploits.

"It seems that these so called heroes actions have been going on for months now. If they are talked about the news so often, how could you not have known about them before hand?" the UK representative demanded. Next to her, the US questioned why French government felt a need to hide this secret.

France reminded the council that each country had the right to determine what information should be shared during these meetings. "I swear by my honor I had no idea they existed and neither did our president. The country itself didn't know about them until that terrible day. I know what you're thinking. How could President Francois Hollande, who literally resides in Paris, not know about these two? I suspect the information was hidden from him or maybe the broadcasts were edited. He has been traveling extensively for months for diplomatic purposes"

The other members of the Security Council started to talk among themselves about how improbable that sounded. The three African region members: Egypt, Senegal, and Angola agreed that this was conspiracy by the French Government for unknown reasons. Angola insisted that the government knew more then what it was telling. Had President Hollande actions such as the three month state of emergency and proposals for serious changes to the French Constitution, including keeping a closer watch on citizens with double citizenship, merely a smoke screen to cover up incompetence?

Senegal had been reviewing the information that was being passed around. The representative was wary of the information because most of it came from a teenager's blog that was clearly biased. Most of the police reports were also filled with strange information relating to people turning into monsters and that any damage was "magically fixed." It was obvious that they needed firsthand information to verify the facts and get to the truth.

Egypt stated why weren't the _three_ so called heroes and the "villain" hadn't been investigated for possible terrorism connections. Clearly, by hiding their identities, and using strange technology or possible new drugs to do what they did, needed to be investigated. France needed to know if they could trust their heroes or if they were just laying a false sense of security before betraying Paris. The rest of the Council needed to know for certain if about these strange people.

It soon became apparent that the rest of the council members, (Japan, Malaysia, Uruguay, and Venezuela, New Zealand, Spain and lastly Ukraine), also had concerns about France as a country and especially what was going on in the city of Paris. If the problems were not resolved now, they could be allowing another terrorist group to spread and cause more deaths. President Liu Jieyi got everyone's attention declaring it was time to vote.

The council voted as France abstained from participating in the vote unable to use its pocket veto in these circumstances. The vote was unanimous. An investigating into the French Government, the city of Paris, and of course these so called heroes would commence as soon as possible. It was also agreed that a "special" investigator would be needed to carry out this mission. With that the meeting came to an end.

President Jieyi was on his way to an important lunch, when he was stopped by the French Representative. The man was out of breath indicating that he had hurried to catch up to the president before he left. "President Jieyi, I agree that an investigation of my government and the city of Paris is necessary, but I beg of you to please emphasize the importance of discretion during the investigating by our "special" investigator. We are still recovering and Paris is on edge."

President Jieyi shushed the man and pulled him into an alcove checking to make sure no one was around to hear them speak. A quick check revealed no bugs or cameras on them. "Quiet! You know better than to casually mention that person outside of secured meeting! That information is highly classified and you know the penalty for revealing that information without full power of the Council."

The French Representative nodded and zipped his lips. Taking out a piece of paper, he wrote something in a secret code before handing it to the President. Reading it, the President nodded and whispered that he would make certain his concerns were met. After one final check, the two separated going in opposite directions. Whatever classified information they had been talking about remained a mystery.

* * *

The next day, President Jieyi and his incumbent, Egypt's Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta met the next day in private. They both exchanged pleasantries. They sized each other up before using security measures to ensure privacy on this particular manner. "As you know I'll be soon stepping down as SCP with May about to begin. I wanted to see if you and I agreed on using our "special agent" to conduct this investigation. If you don't then we'll have to come up with another team to start this investigation."

"My own personal feelings towards our "secret" have to be put aside right now if we are to conduct this investigation as quickly and quietly as possible. The Security Council's "secret" has always completed any task given with great results, even ending conflicts before they arise. I support your actions and will continue them once I take the mantel. I hope that the mission will be completed before another president, especially a French one, takes over."

President Jieyi nodded his head in agreement. The two men spent a bit more time ironing out all the details for the mission as well as gathering all relevant data. Once the folder was complete, the two men left the room and headed to a special hallway filled with elevators and four secured stairwells were found. Getting into the eighth elevator the two men rode it down to the secret bunkers under the UN.

These bunkers were designed to protect the many dignitaries and visiting government officials during a sever crises. Each bunker had been reinforced to provide protection from natural disasters, nuclear bombing, and host of other dangers. Extra food, water, and even oxygen were stocked away in these bunkers. They had been used several times before and would continue to be used should the need arrive.

Their elevator was just about to open up one of the bunkers when President Jieyi subtlety pushed a hidden button in the paneling while Incumbent Aboulatta applied some pressure to left side rail turning off the cameras. The car stopped and secondary buttons panel replaced the original one. After tapping a secret code in, the left side of the shaft opened as the car started going sideways. It took full five minutes before the car reached its destination.

The doors opened to a short tunnel that lead to a heavily secured door. At the top of the door in white were the words, "Project PK." Both men stood on either side of the door verifying their identities and using special keys, regular ones not plastic, to unlock the door. There was a hiss as the door opened. The men walked through the door and down a short flight of stairs until they were looking at a series of bunkers that had been merged together to create an underground living and working space.

* * *

The bunker was amazing. The many bunkers had been used to create different rooms. Walking down the stairs they came into the main area. One side of the room was set up to be a cozy little living room. Special transponders allowed signals to get down here so the electronics worked. Several cultural pieces had been spread out across the area. On the opposite side of the room was a kitchen/dining area. Behind them was another bunker room that had been split in two. It was a combination research/monitoring office. Three huge shelves filled with books in multiple languages stood against the far wall next to a desk. The monitoring section had monitors all lit up as each showed a different camera angle, websites, and a few documents.

A hallway near the office led to the domestic living space and bathroom bunker. This bunker area also had several closets filled with different essentials and an area for doing laundry.

Walking through the main bunker to the next section they passed the tightly secured armory, infirmary, and one that use to be a classroom, but now served as a place to store items related to undercover work. The next section of bunker appeared blank. In reality, this section had several hidden weapons cache, security traps, and at least two escape routes. One to the surface to a hidden garage filled with a number of vehicles and the second that led to a secret dock where a boat stood ready to travel across the East River.

Finally the men reached the final set of bunkers that had been combined together to create the ultimate training room. Several high quality workout machines and a court for different games took up a section. There was a room for weapons practice. Another room was fully dedicated to hand to hand combat training. Tracks, a large pool/hot tub, and some trapeze had been set up. Scanning the room, they saw the door to the locker room open as a person came out in workout clothes. "Peace Keeper!" President Jieyi called out gaining the person's attention. "We need to discuss your next mission. After you have cleaned up meet us in the office for your official debriefing." The figure nodded and slipped back inside the locker room to change.

* * *

The two men waited patiently in the office. Ten minutes later they were joined by Project Peace Keeper, a woman in her late twenties, dressed in a simple black body suit! She was about 5'7, with bright green eyes, shimmering flowing black hair that fell just past her shoulders and small well shaped nose on an oval face. Her complexion appeared to be mixed of different tones, giving her a rare exotic look. When she spoke, her voice was a blend of different accents. "Greetings, President Jieyi. Incumbent Aboulatta. Seeing you both here means that you have a new mission for me, is that true?"

The men nodded. The Security Council best kept secret, a special soldier/peace keeping agent that very few people knew about. Peace Keeper had the skills and training to carry out missions that needed subtly, finesse, and sometimes a bit of force. Her skills included being an omnilingual, a photographic memory, and genius level intellect. She was a master at several hand to hand combat styles, could handle a multitude of weapons and vehicles, and very quick to adapt to trouble. Living under the UN had made her somewhat of a cultural expert. What she truly excelled at was at disguises and blending in with her surroundings.

Peace Keeper sat down and started reading the brief. She studied the pictures as she listened to the men about her objective and what they wanted her to accomplish during this mission. To determine if these "heroes" were actually terrorists and/or a threat. Find out if someone was using illegal means to prevent their presence from leaking outside of Paris. Lastly, get the details of the President Hollande ignorance about the situation, and learn if his government was hiding something, from the rest of the world. "I accept the mission and I will get you the answers you seek. Are there any other criteria I need to know about?"

"It is vital that you keep a low profile and handle this investigation as quietly as possible. The country is still coming to terms with what happened and normalcy is slowly returning. For this mission you'll be acting as a special liaison between the UN Peacekeeping Team and the French Government to learn the truth," President Jieyi instructed her. He handed her the profiles of the people she would be working with.

Incumbent Aboulatta emphasized that they would need weekly reports of how the mission was going. He also authorized her use of deadly force and full interrogation and torture procedures, once she captured the two teens and the mysterious "villain" they fought. "The safety of the city and the world are more important than worrying about morals at this time. If you believe you can get the truth without taking extreme methods, go for it. The fates of these so called heroes is up to you. Do what you think is best and contact us when you're done. You have two days to prep before taking a flight to France."

Peace Keeper nodded and promised to give them a detailed report about her new identity as soon as she finished prepping. Satisfied, the men left to return to world above leaving the young woman alone. Peace Keeper watched them go, a bit of jealousy rising in her heart. Putting her hand in a pocket, she rubbed a tiny charm between her fingers easing her tension. "I have a mission to prepare for."

* * *

First thing to do was gather more research on the problem. She needed to know everything she could about her targets. Going over to the computers she set search parameters to find specific information about them, the recent happenings in Paris, and any historical data that might explain their inhuman abilities. As an afterthought, also told the computer to search for any mythological/magic related to the animals. Leaving the computer to run its search she started pulling books off her shelves to reorient herself on the history of both France and specially Paris history.

Flipping her hair her shoulders she started to scan the books. France indeed had a long rich history going back thousands of years going back to the time of it first being settled. Apparently before it became a unified country, had several wars among the different regions in the country as well as foreign invaders. The reigning government had changed hands many times especially before and after the French revolution.

"The successful coup of Napoleon in 1799 led to the formal establishment of the French Empire in 1804. Despite internal struggles still plaguing the country, Napoleon planned to invade the Ottoman Empire, specifically Egypt, to weaken the alliance between them and Brittan. The idea led to several famous battles including the famous incident at Trafalgar where the Franco-Spanish fleet was defeated and all attempts to invade Brittan stopped. Several coalitions were formed to keep Napoleon in check that led to several more battles until he was defeated at Waterloo and exiled to a remote island. However, several of his policies led to establishing a centralized government bringing the people of France together," Peace Keeper read out loud to herself.

"Fascinating. It seems that fighting wars and establishing different types of governments ranging from monarchy to republics demonstrates that France is a country where the political situation is always changing. The people have a history of successfully getting what they want and defending what they believe is their own. Its leaders are always struggling to maintain that power, even now that France has known relative peace for a few years, and the constant fear of foreign invasion has always remained. That might explain why the appearance of heroes in the capital received such positive attention. Someone with a lot of power in the city could be controlling the spread of information in order to maintain a power base, especially if they were planning on taking over the country."

The computers beeped indicating it had finished compiling the information from its search and had created a document with centralized data. Her stomach growled. A quick look at the clock revealed she had been working for nearly five hours straight and it well past lunch. Taking the file with her she headed to her kitchen to make something to eat. Hopefully, someone had remembered to send down a shipment of food to restock it.

It was nearly eleven at night and Peace Keeper still hadn't put the file down. She had learned a lot by looking at the pictures of the two heroes. Their statue conveyed a lot about how the people of Paris adored him. Pulling out the duo head shots she once again felt as if her eyes were sliding away from their faces. The closer she tried to study them, the more her eyes seemed to go in other directions. "Something about this picture is different. I don't know of any technology that could cause an effect like this. What is so special about you two?"

The next morning, the Security Council's best kept secret was preparing herself for another mission. She needed to create a new identity in order to maintain her secret existence. First step was choosing her alias for the mission. Being a liaison required her to be viewed as an ally, while still showing she cared about France itself, which she did. After all her loyalty was to the world not one country. So she decided to use her French American alias: Nicole Gardien.

The first step was pining up her hair and then securing a bobbed blond wig made from real hair on her head. Contacts turned her eyes brown. Using movie make up and putty she changed the structure of her face making it more heart shape and giving herself a beauty mark near her now straight nose. She plucked her eyebrows and put on tasteful, but not gaudy make up. She used a special cream to bring out certain tones in her skin. Her nails were painted a light pink.

The next step was using a special machine that lay invisible latex on her fingertips creating a brand new set of fingerprints that couldn't be linked back to her. She did the same with any other identified able parts of her body. Slipping on a special pair of shoes she felt herself shrink down to a 4ft 3inches. The shoe was specially designed to look the right size, but actually went further down allowing her to change her height. Her jewelry was the same way when in reality a few had gadgets inside them.

She packed several outfits that fit the role she was meant to play before putting on a powder blue dress suit. Gathering everything she would need for this alias, including passport, personal ID, and money, she examined herself in the mirror as she double checked her bags. Going into the armory she selected a handgun, some sleeping gas, and a few other small items. Lastly, she went to the part of the bunker that had those security measures and opened a secret compartment containing what appeared to be magical related stuff and hid some of it her case. Rubbing her charm once more, she mentally prepped herself so the persona she was taking on would be as real as possible. Placing a discreet call, she told President Jieyi she was ready to go.

* * *

Her usual method of travel, going by private plane with delegates to the country of interests, wasn't available at the time. Flying on a regular plane with special permits for her weapons was a new experience for her. Her seat was in the middle of the plane right next to the aisle giving her instant access to move if she needed to. Her eyes roamed as she observed the passengers. None of them seemed to be a threat so started to play a little game with herself, imagining why the passengers were on this flight.

The family behind me is going on vacation to get away from the hectic life style at home. They're hoping to see the Eiffel Tower and go to the Louve to view the Mona Lisa. The grumpy man across the aisle is going to France on a business trip and it's not for a good reason. The woman next to me is returning home after visiting family in the States she thought to herself. So many wonderful lives to think about. The best feeling is knowing I can help keep them safe.

The flight to Paris took approximately six hours. Peace Keeper, no Nicole Gardien, stepped off the plane with confidence, her UN badge clipped to her suit. She walked over to the Customs Security Office to retrieve her weapons case. The officers double checked her permits to make sure everything was in order. After confirming her paper work she headed out to the parking lot. The heat of the afternoon sun beat down on her. She had left New York around ten in the morning and it was now four in the afternoon. She had a meeting with President Hollande scheduled at five thirty. A limo was waiting for her and she thanked the driver for picking her up.

About forty five minutes later she arrived at the Elysee Palace, the heavily guarded and fortified residence of the President and where the French Cabinet would gather to do their duties. Two bodyguards, waited for her. Exiting the limo Nicole took a deep breath and strolled confidently over to them. In a voice that conveyed a mix of American and French accents she said. "Greetings. I am Special Liaison Nicole Gardien. I have an appointment with President Hollande to discuss the joint team of UN Keepers and the officials who will be assisting us in this endeavor."

The bodyguards nodded and swiftly escorted her inside. She kept her eyes forward, trying to ignore the beauty and wonder before her. At last she arrived at the Golden Room, the office of the President, and was escorted inside. President Hollande was waiting for her as she took a seat across from him. The bodyguards took up their places as the conversation got underway.

"Greetings Ms. Gardien. I know the reason for your visit and I have to say I'm a little offended. My Cabinet and I have already increased security, not only here, but all over the country. My Intelligent Unit has thoroughly investigate all leads to ensure we don't suffer another attack. So you can understand why I'm not pleased that the Security Council deems it necessary to investigate my government right now."

"President Hollande, I understand your feelings and I would not be here if there was no reason for concern. How is it that you never knew about these so called heroes in your own city? From what I have gathered, Mayor Bourgeois has not only recognized the duo with many awards including a statue, but his own daughter has been rescued a few times by these "heroes", Ladybug and Chat Noir I believe they're called."

The president flushed as he again assert that he had no knowledge of these heroes and hadn't seen them with his own eyes. His Cabinet members had not brought it up. The local police had attempted to inform him, but he dismissed as a huge hoax. When questioned further, he admitted he had never seen any media attention about them until after the attack. He simply had no explanation.

"I believe you are being sincere President Hollande. From what you informed me about we can only conclude someone was manipulating the situation to keep you in the dark. Don't you want to know the truth about what is going on in this city? You owe it to yourself and this country to make sure that they are safe from external and _internal_ threats."

The President agreed and said he would fully cooperate with the UN members in conducting this private investigation. They continued to discuss the plan for over an hour. When they were done, Ms. Gardien left heading to the Hotel de Marigny, where important visitors of the President, stayed the duration of their visit.

* * *

Despite the time difference, Nicole Gardien/Peace Keeper, couldn't sleep. Something about Paris was keeping her awake. She walked over to the window and stared at the City of Lights. The twinkling lights reminded her starlight and the many possibilities that existed. She could make out many of the famous landmarks that dotted the city. Her eyes latched onto the Eiffel Tower. A strong sense of longing filled her. "The Eiffel Tower, a place where love is supposed to befall anyone who walks around it. If only that was true for everyone. Love doesn't happen for everyone."

Turning away from the window she once again pulled her tiny charm out of her hidden pocket, cupping it in her hands protectively. Despite privacy laws, she had a feeling a few rooms in this hotel had cameras in them, to keep an eye on its important visitors. This little charm was the only things she could really call her own seeing, as everything else was property of the UN. So she was really protective of it.

The little charm felt very warm in her hands. The light that filtered through her fingers made the charm sparkled light green. Tracing a finger around the charm she could feel the memory trying to surface again. The one memory she chose to suppress so no one could take it from her. A memory about how she had gotten the charm.

 _Flash!_

 _A small child dressed in a traditional dress ran through the back alleys of Beijing. Glancing behind her, she saw the street gang of boys chasing her. Panicking, she reached for her tracker in her hair only to stumble to the ground scraping herself up._

 _Flash!_

 _She was in antique shop looking at a beautiful box. It was dark red and black and hanging from the gold inlays were small charms of different colors. She felt a strong urge to touch it, but held back._

 _Flash!_

 _Something green flew in the air. The laughter of a child filed the air "Tell me more please? I never get to hear stories like the ones you tell." The green creature flew back to her as she settle down to listen._

 _Flash!_

 _She saw an old man with a baby turtle enjoying tea. A bitter middle age man yelling at a purple butterfly. A blond hair boy laughing with a black kitten about something funny. A teen girl sat at a desk drawing a ladybug._

A jerk of the head and the secret agent pulled out of the memory. She was very confused. That last flash was not a memory. She had never seen these people before though they all felt familiar in some way. The charm in her hands had stopped sparkling and it was no longer warm. "What is going on? Did you have something to do with this?" she asked the charm. The charm stayed silent and Nicole Gardiner/Peace Keeper tucked it safely away. She could worry about the strange vision/memory another time. It was time to get some sleep.

* * *

At the bakery, Marinette had been sketching a design for an unconventional dress contest coming up when she felt a chill go down her spine. She whipped her chair around eyes darting everywhere. She could have sworn she felt someone's eyes are her. "That was weird. Tikki, did you get the feeling someone was watching us just now?"

The little kwami flew up next to Marinette's face. "Not really, but I did feel a bit giggly for a second. It was as if my whole body became ticklish."

"Is that bad?"

Tikki shrugged her tiny little shoulders. Kwamiis got strange feelings all the time just as humans would suddenly feel an itch or a burning sensation, without any real cause. "I don't think it was anything to worry about. Maybe you're just feeling a bit on edge. The city is still in a state of recovery and there has been a rise in akumas lately. Both you and Chat Noir have been trying to balance helping restore the city while protecting it."

"What kind of heroes would we be if we didn't?" Marinette stated to her tiny friend. From where she lived she couldn't see any of the places that had been attacked. Chat Noir and her had been on patrol that night when they heard the sounds of shooting echoing across the city. The bombs going off had nearly sent them tumbling to their death despite the distance. Knowing civilians needed help the duo had hurried off towards the eleventh and twelfth arrondissement to see what they could do.

 _Flash!_

" _My Lady, what's going on? Can you get a news broadcast?" Chat Noir had called out as he ran on all fours leaping across the rooftops. His ears perked up as he heard more screams and sirens going off. Whatever was happening was worse than any akuma attack._

 _Ladybug used her yoyo to spin around a lamppost and swing up onto another rooftop. Slipping the cover off her yoyo she checked the news feeds. Her eyes widen in horror as she listened to Nadja Chamack describe the tragedy of the events unfolding._

" _Breaking news. Three simultaneous terrorist attacks have just taken place. Reports are coming about three bomb attacks near the State de France and another one on Boulevard Voltaire. Shootings at several cafes have been reported in the tenth and eleventh arrondissement." Nadja paused for a second as she touched her ear listening to incoming news. She paled and shook as the news reached her._

" _This just in. A mass shooting at the Bataclan Theater has just taken place. Reports are coming in that the gunmen have taken hostages. The BRI and RAD are hurrying to the scene right now in hopes to prevent the loss of more lives."_

 _The two heroes looked at each other. Silently they came to an agreement as they made their way to the Bataclan Theater. Right now what mattered was saving the hostages._

 _Flash!_

Marinette opened her eyes not wanting to relive the memory of what had happened at the theater. The overwhelming smell of blood and death still haunted her. She had never felt that helpless before or useless. Miraculous Ladybug Cleanse couldn't undo what had happened because it hadn't been an akuma attack.

"I think I'll go to bed early tonight Tikki. Maybe I'll be less on edge after a goodnight sleep." Changing into her pajamas Marinette climbed into bed, turned off the lights and went to sleep.

* * *

A few blocks away at Agreste Mansion, Adrien tossed and turned on his bed. Growling as if he was a real cat, he flung off the sheets and walked to the window looking out at the city below. After the attacks, his father had kept him under house arrest for nearly a month before her was allowed to return to school. Although he hated to be confined, at least it showed his father did care for him.

"Adrien you need to get some sleep. How are you supposed to remember to feed me my Camembert if you are too tired in the morning to do it?" Plagg whined. He floated out of the way as Adrien tried to slap him out of the air. Floating down once more he looked at his holder and knew something was wrong. "Okay, what's bothering you now?"

"Who says something's bothering me? Maybe I'm just a night person."

"Adrien, I'm a glutton, not a simpleton. You haven't been the same all night after you stopped laughing over your new puns. Instead of snoozing as the cat you are, you keep coming back to the window."

Adrien's shoulders slumped knowing his kwami was right. Earlier he felt as if someone was rummaging through his mind for a split second. Plagg hadn't felt anything, but who knew if the little cat creature was telling the truth. "Do you think Hawkmoth can read minds?"

"Not sure, he can control and speak to akumatized victims. That doesn't mean he can do it to regular citizens. Are you still wondering why he let up the attacks during the state of emergency and now returned in full force?"

The blond model nodded. Everyone had been feeling anger right after the attack and many still did. During the three months of emergency Ladybug and him had been out there every day helping anyway they could. Each of them thought that any moment an akuma would rise, but it didn't happen. Hawkmoth was always terrorizing the city. Did he actually _feel_ something after that attack?

It was too much to think about right now. He needed to get some sleep. He had a lot on his schedule tomorrow and he needed to be ready if another akuma popped up. Returning to bed he snuggled up in a cocoon of sheets with Plagg and fell asleep.


	2. Investigations: A

Morning arrived too soon for Nicole Gardien. Today was the first meeting of the joint team, was that the right word to use? She would call them a task force as this wasn't a full on peacekeeping mission if it felt more like that. Maybe just calling it an investigation team would be the best idea. "I really need to get around to reading the profiles of the team members. Luckily, I'll have some time before the meeting begins. We're lucky that everyone agreed on a neutral location."

After a much needed shower and a proper breakfast, Nicole gathered everything she would need at the meeting. It was short drive to the meeting hall where the team would meet for the first time. She saw several members of the UN Peacekeeping Force wearing their Blue Berets, (it was the nickname for the Peace Force), talking with the members of the National Police who were assigned to this mission. Already she could see tension building. Hopefully she could ease bring the two forces together.

A short time later the two groups gathered in the meeting room. It was impressive with two crystal chandeliers and large open windows providing plenty of light. Replicas of famous paintings hung on the wall. In the center a huge long table had been set up. There were plenty of seats for everyone considering this was a small organized mission. Members of the National Police sat on the right side and the UN Peacekeeping forces on the left. There was a single chair set up on the far end for the liaison to sit. It would be up to Nicole to ensure that the two groups worked together.

Taking a deep breath she spoke first. " _Bonjour tout le monde. Je suis heureux de vous voir. Je pense que, ensemble, nous pouvons réaliser nos objectifs grâce à la paix et à la coopération."_ She repeated her greeting in English for any member who didn't know the language. The feeling of animosity went down a smidge. "I understand that everyone here is a bit on edge. So I ask that Captain Raymond Tremaine of the National Police and Peacekeeper Force Leader Alana Decker to explain what the goals are and how we can work together."

Captain Tremaine stood up and reiterated the goals of this team. One, determine once and for all, if President Hollande had been telling the truth about his and the Cabinets lack of knowledge, on Paris's heroes. If it was proven they had no knowledge then they would move onto goal two. Determine if there was a conspiracy going on and who was involved. Lastly, gather information on the heroes, then capture them, and finally interrogate them to find out who they really were and their goals. If possible, they also wanted to capture the "villain" and do the same to him.

"I understand that many of my fellow officers are indebted to the heroes, but I assure you that we can handle this problem ourselves. All the goals I have listed have nothing to do with any mandates of the goals of your team Ms. Decker. President Hollande can trust us to handle internal security matters," stated Captain Tremaine in calm voice that also held a bit of disdain in it. The middle age balding cop looked across to his counterpart with a challenging look.

If the younger petite woman felt intimidated she didn't show it. Standing confidently she replied in a respectable tone. "Captain Tremaine, our presence here is not in any form to show disrespect to you or your fellow police members. We are here to help complete ongoing peace building operations. The only thing that has changed is that the UN Security Council believes that they need to expand our orders."

"Since when are you Blue Berets involved investigating governments?" one officer barked out. Captain Tremaine went to reprimand him, only for an angry response from one of the peacekeepers. "The Security Council would not have approved of creating this joint team if your country wasn't a security risk!"

"Are you saying we asked for a terrorist attack?!"

"Of course not. No one deserves that. I'm merely pointing out that your reputation needs a boost."

"Oh and what about you Peacekeepers? Blue Berets, you should be renamed the black berets for all the rumors and under handed s…."

"ENOUGH!" Nicole shouted startling everyone. She glared at all of them forcing everyone to sit down. Only the leaders were left standing waiting to see what she would do. It was her duty as special liaison to ensure clear communication from both sides. She looked at each member of the team making sure they sat up straight and listened.

She reached in her briefcase and took something out. It was several pieces of paper folded together. She cracked the paper before rolling it out. As it rolled pop ups of the entire city started appearing until all of Paris stood before them. Some of the parts of the city had been circled in blue, indicating areas still in need of help. Red circles indicated areas of potential interest. Half blue and half red circles dotted the city in several locations. "This map represent all of Paris. What happened here was terrible, worse a leader of a country, didn't have access to all the information he needed. The Security Council order this discreet investigation to prevent another disaster. All of us here want the same thing. To ensure the continuous peace and security of this city as well as the country at large. By joining forces not only do we have two pairs of eyes on every matter, we increase the chances of this mission being accomplished in a short amount of time."

Captain Tremaine and Ms. Decker nodded in agreement. Each of them wanted to succeed with this peace/security mission. Settling back down the meeting finally got underway without interruptions or potshots taken at one another. The last of the animosity disappeared as the two leaders worked out plans together.

Nicole Gairden paid close attention, offering her advice and making suggestions to the plan. A few members of the Peacekeeping Force had come to offer assistance to finish fixing up the damages from the attacks. It would not look out of place for a few police officers and one or two Blue Beret guards to be walking around making sure everything was returning to normal. It was also a great chance to get information on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Captain Tremaine assured that his police would investigate the members of the Cabinet and the Ministries. Afterwards they would bring their findings and go over them with the UN members who would take a second look on the findings. Together they could determine what their next step would be.

Joint teams would be sent to find out how information had been restricted only to the city. If there was a conspiracy ongoing they would put an end to it. Both leaders asked if Ms. Gairden would help them. They needed someone to investigate the Mayor of Paris. He was under suspicion because of his ties to Ladybug and Chat Noir. He was also the only one in Paris that had the power needed to cover up something this huge. The Special Liaison agreed to take the mission and promised to follow any leads that came up. Another meeting was scheduled in a few days to see how far they had progressed. The investigation could officially begin!

* * *

Arranging a meeting with Mayor Bourgeois for the afternoon, the secret agent came up with a plausible and workable cover story so not to arise the suspicion of the mayor. It would help give her access she needed for the investigation. It would also give her chance to talk with the Deputy Mayor Anne Hidalgo, (the real current mayor of Paris) about her boss. Since the Council was not meeting today, the meeting was scheduled to take place at the mayor's hotel, the Le Grand Paris.

Ms. Gardien was greeted at the hotel by the doorman as a butler escorted her to Mayor Bourgeois private suite. For the meeting she had chosen to wear a neutral tan jacket over a white blouse with a knee length skirt, ivory tights and low brown heels. Her jewelry was a simple silver pendent and earrings. It was important that she look professional as a member of the UN, but at the same time down play her real intentions by not looking as a threat to the mayor's power.

A few minutes later she arrived at his private office. "Mr. Bourgeois, may introduce Ms. Gardien, Special Liaison of the UN," the butler announced. Mayor Bourgeois acknowledged her and gave her a firm handshake which she returned in kind. She took a seat across from him as the doors closed. "Greetings Ms. Gardien. It is my extreme pleasure to welcome you to the Le Grand Paris. It is a great honor to meet a member of such an important international organization."

"How charming, it is my great honor to meet with you Mayor Bourgeois. It is not every day one meets a genuine and great leader such as yourself. The way you have kept this city going after such a travesty is impressive. Your example has helped the residents of the city return feel safe to resume a normal life."

Mayor Bourgeois preened in delight. He puffed out his chest a little and adjusted his sash. He loved being complimented. Trying to act humble he leaned forward on his desk. "I pride myself on being a good leader. It takes a strong will and discipline to ensure to keep Paris in order. I must admit I'm surprise that the UN felt it necessary to send a liaison such as yourself here."

Running a finger through her blond wig, Ms. Gardien smiled at him. She assured him that he had nothing to worry about. Her presence here was nothing more than a formality. Once the Peacekeeper Force was finished she be returning with them. "To be honest I was sent here for another reason. As you know, France is one of the permanent members of the Security Council. After seeing how well your country has dealt with the terrorist attack, my superiors thought this would be the perfect opportunity to launch a new initiative."

Before he could further ask about the initiative, the doors to the office were flung open as a loud scream of "DADDY!" accompanied it. Stomping into the room in a fuss was his daughter Chloe. "I need to talk to you right now!" the teenager shouted even louder than before. She rudely shoved past the seated guest before standing in front of the desk.

Looking a little embarrassed, the mayor attempted to take control of the situation. "Chloe, you know you're not supposed to interrupt any meetings I have here. Whatever you need can wait until this is over."

Chloe rolled her eyes and huffed. She muttered under breath how her problems took precedence over any stupid meeting with someone with no fashion sense. Standing her ground she refused to leave. "I'm not leaving until you hear me out." The blond was about to start gesticulating when Ms. Gardien cleared her throat.

"Mayor Bourgeois, please excuse me if I'm not using proper manners, but is it not customary for a person to be introduced properly to anyone who attends a meeting? If I understand correctly, family matters should be held in private not in front of guests."

The mayor nodded and introduce his daughter to his guest. Chloe begrudgingly returned the introduction. After that was done he politely asked his daughter to apologize to his guest which she did. Ms. Gardien accepted the apology and explained that in America it was not polite to mutter or make rude comments about one's clothing. Nor was it proper for a child to be interrupting a meeting between adults. Chloe appeared upset that someone was correcting her behavior. Her father asked her to leave once again and this time she did.

"I'm sorry about that, my daughter usually is more conscious of etiquette in these situations."

"It is not my place to judge your family members Mayor Bourgeois. I only ask that in the future, during any meeting that we not be interrupted by what appears to be a private manner." In her head the liaison wanted to tell him exactly what she thought about the rude behavior only it wasn't proper manners in France to do so. Instead she got to the point of the meeting.

She explained that the Peacekeepers Force was undergoing serious changes as was the Security Council in hopes to deal with the international crises that were growing by the day. Because of the changes in the next few years; a new generation of peacekeepers would be needed to uphold the ideals and improve successful missions. Her hope was to speak at schools to encourage students to think about this as a possible career for them after they had complete their education. She also wanted an opportunity to speak with members of the Paris's municipal council to see if they were interested in joining the UN once the changes were completed.

While it wasn't traditional for decisions to be made during a meeting, the mayor agreed to her request to make up for the bad manners of his daughter. He promised to arrange her plans and would get back to her in a day or two. The meeting ended with a proper handshake and goodbyes. Once she was gone, the Mayor headed to his daughter's room to speak to her about her inappropriate behavior.

* * *

Meanwhile, when Ms. Gardien/Peace Keeper got back to her hotel room she removed her jewelry and took out her computer from her suitcase. The earrings were highly sensitive recording device that picked up on conversations going on in other rooms. Her pendent was a specialized camera that could take pictures in different EM spectrums. Combined with her perfect memory it would take little time to find out if the mayor was hiding anything. "Time to find out what secrets your hiding mayor. I can't wait to see and hear what you do when you think no one is watching."

* * *

The next day at Collège Françoise Dupont, Marinette arrived early for a change. Both she and Chat Noir had agreed that they needed a good night's rest if they wanted to be on the top of their game if Hawkmoth sent another Akuma to attack during their relief efforts. They could afford the break anyways now that the cleanup and repairs were near completion thanks to a new infusion of Peacekeepers aiding the efforts.

"Hey girl, you're early for a change," Alya told her best friend as Marinette slid into her seat. "I didn't think I see you up this early. Did you come early to talk to Adrien?"

Marinette's face flushed profusely. "Alya! Please stop teasing me."

Alya laughed at her friend's whining. "You just make it to easy. Seriously girl, why are you here early? You're almost always late despite living just a block from the school."

"I got a good night's sleep for a change and decided to come in early. I don't want Ms. Bustier to lecture me again about tardiness." She smiled and pulled out her sketchpad from her book bag. "I also wanted to show you my finished design for the unconventional fashion contest. Take a look."

It was an impressive design for something that wouldn't be made out of normal materials save for the muslin needed to hold it all together. Marinette had decided to use items, used in designing and making clothes, as her materials.

Instead of a dress, she had decided to go with a jump suit, to stand out from other designers. The legs of the jumpsuit would be made with a combination of different size needles with spools of thread to make a unique pattern. The pattern would be repeated with scissor handles and colored pencils on the quarter length sleeves. The hip and collar of the suit would be decorated with pincushions to give dimension and texture to the suit. The top of the suit would be made out of tape measure strips turned backwards to give it a clean and polished look. Overall it was an impressive job for an amateur designer first time working with none fabric materials.

"I can't wait to see this jumpsuit Marinette. It's sure to win the contest. Do you need any help getting the supplies?"

Marinette didn't get the chance to reply because two shadows fell over the best friends. It was Chloe and Sabrina ready to dish out their usual cruelty. "Are you kidding me? That design is even more pathetic then your usual ugly garments." Chloe stated. "Are you too poor to afford real clothes?"

"Maybe she should start wearing bread instead of clothes!" Sabrina added gleefully. "Then you can have a snack whenever you wanted." By this time most of the class had arrived and were trying to stay out of Chloe's way. None of them liked Chloe's cruelty, yet standing up to her usually ended up with them suffering even worse than the original victim.

Marinette trembled trying to keep her temper in check. "The contest is to see how far a designer can push themselves when faced with unusual client request. It's supposed to look like that."

"What a ridiculous notion. No one with any good fashion sense would think about asking for something like that. No model would even be caught wearing that at any fashion show, especially not my Adriekens."

"I wouldn't be wearing what?" a voice asked. Everyone's eyes latched onto Adrien, who had just entered the classroom with Nino. The boys had been having a discussion but stopped once they heard Chloe use her pet name for him.

Chloe launched herself at Adrien pushing Nino aside. Batting her eyes she told him all about Marinette's awful design and what a joke it was. Gently dislodging the blond he responded to her. "I heard about that contest. My father is going to be one of the judges. He says it's the best way to find real talent because a true designer can make anything look great."

Chloe started to backtrack talking about how his father had such an expert eye when Ms. Bustier came in. "Alright everyone take your seats. I have a few announcements to make and I need your full attention." Adrien slid into his seat and gave Marinette a reassuring smile that made the girl blush even harder. Wondering why she always got so nervous around him Adrien turned his attention to the teacher.

Ms. Bustier checked her clipboard before proceeding with her announcements. She reminded everyone that there would be a drill tomorrow to practice the new procedure from attacks at the school and for evacuation. Her next announcement talked about how a few rooms would be closed for the next few days, including the library and the science lab, as crews would be working in them to update them and link up the new security system. Her last announcement perked the student's interests.

"Two days from now, we'll have a special guest visitor talking to the different classes. This visitor is a member of the UN Peacekeepers. She'll be talking about the future of the Peacekeepers and answer any questions you might have if you chose to volunteer for the group after you completed your schooling." She gave the class a sharp look. Her body language indicate that they needed to take this visit very seriously. "This guest is a very important person. I want you all on your best behavior and give the respect the speaker deserves. Am I clear?"

The class responded with a positive yes knowing that detention would be the least of their worries if they did something disrespectful to the guest speaker. As the class got underway Chloe rolled her eyes muttering to Sabrina about how awful the speaker would be.

Marinette was intrigued by the upcoming speaker. Honestly, she had never thought about being a peacekeeper before. Now that she was Ladybug, perhaps she could learn a few things that would help her make a difference as just her. She didn't know that Adrien was also thinking the same thing. It would be great if he could do something important as himself then as Chat Noir.

In their hidden bags, the Kwamiis thought about the announcement too. Plagg wondered if the speaker would bring cheese. He always wanted to try American cheese to see if it tasted just as good as Camembert. On the other hand, Tikki wanted to learn more about these peacekeepers and if their job was similar to a Miraculous Holder.

* * *

While Adrien and Marinette were stuck at school, Nicole/Peace Keeper was getting a tour of City Hall by Deputy Mayor Hidalgo who was quiet a lovely woman. "Thank you again Deputy Mayor Hidalgo for the tour. I'm sure that you have more important matters to be attending to right now."

"It is no trouble at all Ms. Gardien. The Council is not meeting until tomorrow. I'm already prepared for it so you have no reason to worry. Is there any place that you really wanted to see?" Deputy Mayor Hidalgo asked. She was a highly accomplished woman and her political career spoke for itself. For the meeting tomorrow she was prepared to fight further for her ban on diesel engines cars on Parisian streets.

The duo paused before some of the famous artwork that hung in the building. Truly the painters had created magnificent works of art to be enjoyed. "I must admit I'm a minor historian Deputy Mayor Hidalgo. I understand that it took nineteen years to reconstruct the building after it was nearly burnt to the ground in eighteen seventy one. It took two years to get the materials and budget to start fixing up the building. Do you know if there are any secret rooms or passages that might have been created during the reconstruction?"

"Why does everyone imagine that about old buildings? Well, if there are I haven't found one yet. It would be a great find if there was something like that would be discovered." The Deputy Mayor turned back the young woman and asked again if there was a certain place she wanted to see.

The Special Liaison nodded explaining that she would love to view the Council's meeting hall and stop by some of the offices. It was common knowledge that many councilmembers would work at city hall as they prepared for an official meeting. The DM was more than happy to show her the places she mentioned.

While the DM showed her around Ms. Gardien would occasionally stop in the halls and take a closer look at the details before continuing the tour. I hope she never learns that I was comparing public records on the building to see if there are hidden rooms and passages, Nicole/Peace Keeper thought to herself. She rather liked the middle age woman and could tell she's be a great mayor if she ever needed to take over.

After reviewing the data she had collected the other day she had discovered something that was slightly disturbing. Photos of Mayor Bourgeois desk had reveled at least two false bottom drawers. One of them held a secret stash of Scottish Whiskey, a favorite foreign drink, among the elite. The other drawer was by far more interesting. There had been several different files in there. While her camera had been unable to capture the paperwork inside the files, three of them had intriguing labels. A file marked LB & CN, another with Chloe's name and the word happiness on it, and lastly a file marked simply "PTGPIPBAMN." "He really needs to use less obvious anagrams if wants to keep things private."

"I'm sorry Ms. Gardiner, did you say something?" DM Hidalgo asked. They had just finished touring the meeting hall.

"Pardon my faux fa, I was lost in my private thoughts. I said that your hybrid council is very similar to the Security Council. It will make my job so much easier to do. Now shall we get to the offices wing? I am eager to meet your fellow colleagues."

That was an extremely close call. I need to keep focused on what I'm saying out loud while my brain works through my private thoughts. Another slip up could draw suspicion to me and I can't afford that. Okay I'll need a distraction at one point so I can check the offices and see if the Mayor's hiding anything in his. I'm not going to have a lot of time so this better count.

Meeting different council members from the different arrondissement turned out to be a very pleasant occasion. Many of the members that lived in the tenth to the thirteenth expressed their thanks to her and her Peace Keepers by giving her the kiss ritual. It was making her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't want to sound rude.

* * *

After finishing her talk with the members of the effected arrondissements, (while also getting information about the mayor through passive questioning), Nicole's hand slipped quickly into her jackets and pressed the extra button inside. The lights turned off leaving them in the dark because the curtains had somehow been shut tight keep the place in the darkness. The people in the building started yelling in a panic. The ladies agreed to split up to check on the council members and find a solution to the problem.

"Finally, I really hate acting like a spy. Sometimes doing the right thing can put you in these awkward situations," Nicole Gardien/ Peace Keeper whispered to herself. The watch she had been wearing started to glow; lighting her way to the Mayor's private office. It was an old lock so it didn't take long to get inside. "Fifteen minutes tops is more than enough time to do a quick search."

She pulled out a few seemingly normal items from her purse; a hand mirror, a phone, and a pen. Easily dismissed objects. Grabbing the mirror, she used her glowing watch to aim the light off the mirror to the different walls in the office. Bingo! Her earlier efforts on locating hidden passageways had turned up a secret escape route that started in the office, on the left side of the room, then went down and opened up in the garden. Using the phone she sent out an EM pulse in the room to knock out the electronics, including the one securing a hidden compartment on the top of the desk. Reaching inside, the secret agent smiled.

"So you do have something to hide. Lists of names of members in the Cabinet who owe you are favor, some bank records, and private contracts with the media. Better copy it all quick." Using her pen she traced every bit of information on the papers with the pen, which stored it away in the memory drive inside it.

"Okay seven minutes to clean up the room and get back to where I need to be. I need to verify my findings and talk with Captain Tremaine about what he has to say." Setting everything back where it belonged, she collected her stuff and made her way back to the meeting point. Her distraction would be coming to an end and hopefully no one would discover what had caused it.

* * *

Two days later everyone in Ms. Bustier's class, except for Chloe and Sabrina, had arrived early to class and many were wearing much nicer clothes than usual. Nathanial had combed back his hair so it didn't fall into his eyes and Kim smelled of cologne. Alix had even put on make-up! It was really strange.

"I can't believe that one visitor could make all our classmates show up so nice! It's really strange, but kinda exciting," Marinette told Alya. The teen designer giggled looking at Alya's tamed curls. "How long did it take you to use the straightener?"

Alya stuck her tongue out at her best friend. "My mom got me up extra early to help me with this," indicating her straight locks and how they had been molded around her face to give her a clean look. "I told her I was hoping to interview the speaker and she informed me that if I was going to be talking to a member of the UN, I better look the part of a real reporter." She started tugging on the collar of her freshly ironed hand me down suit she had gotten from her dad.

"This thing itches like crazy. Maybe you can fix that later."

Marinette told her maybe. Between her "extracurricular" activities, class president, and working both in the bakery and on her design, she was a bit swamped at the moment. Taking a quick glance at the boy, Marinette had a dreamy look on her face as she admired Adrien's custom made semiformal outfit. His jacket had been replaced by a tux jacket, his shirt was cream colored with stylized symbol of Gabriel Agreste's business, and wearing dress pants, that actually were made of denim. "What a handsome boy."

Adrien turned around not quite hearing what Marinette said. "What did you say Marinette?"

"I said…what do… you clothes… eep handsome… ah!" the blushing sputtering teen girl just sank beneath her desk unable to communicate further. She gave a pleading look to Alya, "Please fix this!"

Adrien had a very puzzled expression on his face. What did he do that caused that reaction in Marinette every time they spoke? Alya rolled her eyes a bit about the boy's naïve knowledge about girls. Beside Adrien Nino just shrugged his shoulders indicating he couldn't help here.

"Marinette said she loved how handsome your clothes are. After all she's a designer and it's always fun to look at another person's design and wonder if you can something similar or better than what you see."

"Oh I get it now. Yeah my father's designs for me are always custom made. Thanks for the compliment Marinette." The girl had managed to get back in her seat and nodded her head.

The tardy bell rung as everyone sat straight up. The door flew open and in walked Chloe wearing an outlandish designer dress. It was tight yellow spaghetti strap dress that hugged her body and showed off her figure leaving next to no imagination. For accessories, she was wearing huge diamond earrings and necklace. On her head was a red fedora that sat delicately on her head not messing with her perfect hair. You could hear her yellow and orange heeled sandals as she marched to her seat. Following behind her was Sabrina carrying a jacket that was supposed to go with the dress. "Oh don't hold back on your applause. I think I look magnificent. Don't I Sabrina?"

"Yes Chloe, no one will be able to look at anything except you in the room!" Sabrina praised. That was the point. Chloe didn't want to waste her precious time with Adrien by having to sit through an entire period listening to some nobody.

"Chloe! What is the meaning of this?" Ms. Bustier demanded. She had entered the room moments ago asking the students to help set up for the speaker. Seeing the effort everyone had taken to look respectful and behave properly made her heart fill with joy. Hopefully there wouldn't be any problems like last time. She didn't think she could handle another Akuma in her classroom. As the students got to work that's when the Mayor's daughter was exposed in her inappropriate outfit.

Chloe rolled her eyes before responding, "What are you talking about Ms. Bustier? I haven't done anything except come to class." She saw the teacher looking at her dress. "I didn't know you liked designer clothes Ms. Bustier. This one is a favorite of mine. It really shows off my perfect body."

"Ms. Bourgeois, what did I tell you two days ago during my announcements?"

"You said that someone from the UN was coming to give us a lecture and that we needed to look our best. That's why I chose this outfit." The teacher took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Ms. Bourgeois, I said that I wanted you and your classmates behave and respectful of our guest. You're dress is not appropriate. Glancing at the clock, she didn't have time to send Chloe to Mr. Damocles and finish prepping the room.

"Sabrina, give Chloe the jacket please. Chloe, you are to remain seated at all times and cannot ask any questions. After the lecture is done, you are going to go to Mr. Damocles office to talk to him about your clothing." The teacher held up her hand and told her if she mentioned her father once more she be serving detention today.

* * *

Everything was set up just in time. Two Peacekeepers, a man and a woman, flanked a well-dressed woman, who wore a badge stating her name and position as Special Liaison. She gave off a warm aura and spoke kindly to the teacher thanking her for letting her come on here on such short notice. Taking her place in front of the class Ms. Gardien introduced herself and her colleagues.

"It is such an honor and privilege to speak to you knowing that you'll be changing the world in new few decades. I hope the legacy my generation leaves behind, will not be of war and terror, but hope and peace."

Placing something on the easel she began her speech. "I don't know if you children here know what the United Nations is and what we do so I'll give you a brief overview." She flipped open the first page of her presentation. It was a short history about the founding of the UN in October 1945 in response to the ending of WWII. The five forming members, including France, to prevent wars and help countries in need. These needs include human rights all the way to protecting the environment while creating a social economic for an effected region.

"The UN has five primary bodies: The General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, The International Court of Justice, and the one I work for the Security Council. All five of these bodies work together alongside with several different organizations to promote peace and help the world not fall apart."

Pausing for a moment to make sure she had their attention she flipped to another page discussing the role of the Security Council and how missions were decided before getting to her main point about the Peacekeepers.

"A Peacekeepers job is challenging one. Not only do they have to help aid and protect people who have suffered greatly, they must work with what government is left while making suggestions to help with getting trouble zones get back on their feet.

Peacekeeping is founded on three principles. One, consent of different parties. Not only must the UN come to an agreement the different factions of the conflict, they also must agree to work together. My job as a Special Liaison, is to work as mediator between the groups and help form compromises, so that the peace missions can continue to operate smoothly."

The next point she discussed was remaining impartial to the conflict around them. No matter what they thought or how they felt, a peacekeeper needed to keep a clear head and focus on the mission. The last point was not to use any force of any kind unless it was self-defense or making sure the mission mandate wasn't violated.

With the help of her assistance she described some of the expanding duties of a peacekeeper, such as disarming mines and to help with facilitating the creation of elections. The main goal of every mission was to create peace, building a trust between groups so that the conflict didn't resume. Sometimes they had to help enforce the peace to resolve a conflict.

Gesturing to her two guest, Ms. Gardien asked them to explain about how to become a peacemaker, what missions had they been on, and what was a considered a successful mission.

* * *

While her colleagues were talking, it gave the secret agent a bit of time to relax before finishing up the presentation. She decided to observe the class for a few minutes. Most of them did appear to be interested or at least being polite enough to listen to the speakers. One student, a girl with red hair and glasses, had her camera out videotaping the whole thing. It took a moment for Ms. Gardien to place her.

"So that's you blogger Alya. Is she planning to post this online? Hopefully it gets the right attention." Continuing her observations, she saw potential in each student. The two shy ones wouldn't be good in the field, but perhaps could help with the recruitment process. The boys would make excellent Peaceofficers.

Then her eyes locked on two students. A girl with bluish black pigtails and the blond haired boy who sat in front of her. Again a sense of familiarity filled her mind. Inside her pocket, the charm warmed up at the same time, unknown to the wielders, their Kwamiis felt a vaguely familiar sensation in their heads.

A small headache was forming in their heads and the three humans. All of them had their head resting in their hands. About a minute passed and the sensation was gone.

"What just happened? Could I be getting a stress headache?" Marinette whispered to herself. Once again she felt as if someone was watching her. She glanced at her bag hoping Tikki was okay.

Adrien tried to brush off the small headache. If someone was attempting to read his mind, it didn't work. He hadn't felt something brushing through his thoughts, just a slight pain. He hoped Plagg had an explanation for what happened

* * *

Ms. Gardien was giving her final statements now. "Peacekeeping is not easy and you're not always going to be successful. This job can bring out the best in people and the worst in them. The Security Council is reforming the rules for recruitment, training, and deployment. With this changing world our organization has to attempt and be ready to serve justice to everyone, including putting peacekeepers who broke rules and did horrid things, on trial."

"Not only will our recruitment officers have to meet tougher requirements, background checks and a psychological evaluations will become mandatory. All volunteers will be undergoing a new training program to help prevent future culture shocks and learn how to defend yourself from unwanted attention. Deployment of the Peacekeeping Force will be specialized to help provide the right people to ensure success of the mission.

As we speak the Security Council is drafting a new conduct and discipline policy to ensure the safety of every member of the Peacekeeping Force. This will also help with bringing justice to any victims of corrupt incidents. Thank you once again for listening to my presentation I hope that I have inspired some of you to join us one day."

It took twenty minutes to answer all questions and pass out information brochures. Marinette and Adrien appeared lost in there copies. Nicole/Peace Keeper looked at them for a few minutes then left with her group to give another presentation in a different classroom. Whatever happened in that room, would have to wait until later to figure it out.

* * *

Later that day, about an hour before dinner time, the joint team met up again after three and half days apart. In this short amount of time, they had gathered a great deal of information that would help focus the mission. No one in the city suspected anything, such as an international investigation, was happening in their city.

This time the meeting started on a more pleasant note. Everyone on the joint team appeared to very kind towards each other. That gave the secret agent hope that this meeting would run smoothly. "Alright, everyone quiet down. This joint team meeting is very important. If it's alright with everyone, I would like to hear about the peacebuilding efforts before we talk about the investigation."

Ms. Decker nodded and started to read the reports out loud. "Peacebuilding efforts are nearly complete. The restoration efforts in the tenth and eleventh arrondissements have been completed. The theater should be up and running in a few days. The twelfth just needs a few more things done and that aspect of the mission will be complete."

Everyone cheered upon hearing that news. Completing the repairs was a great occasion to celebrate. The city's residents were sure to be more relaxed with the last of the attack visibly gone. During their efforts they had managed to get a lot of information on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Listening to the eye witness reports helped confirm the reports the Security Council had received. Ms. Gardien/Peace Keeper also learned a few things. The heroes seemed to have a time limit of how long they could hold a transformation. The pictures of the partners showed them using special powers, ones that couldn't exactly be explained right away.

Many eyewitness gave character descriptions praising them. Chat Noir was seen a funny, helpful, and very charming young man who went out of his way to make sure both citizens and his lady were safe. Ladybug characteristics were smart, brave, selfless girl. Without her the people turned into Akumas wouldn't be returned to normal and the damage wouldn't be cleaned up.

"Hmm very telling. Thank you for the reports. While they are strongly indicating that these heroes genuinely care for the city, looking beyond the surface is still important. Also we're lacking in information about the character Hawkmoth I believe." She turned to Captain Tremaine and asked what his officers had found.

Captain Tremaine reported that through their efforts, and with the help of the Peacekeepers Force, they were able to verify that the President was telling the truth about no knowing what was going on. The Ministries had also been investigate. Especially the leaders of the Ministries of: Finance and Public Accounts, Interior, and Culture and Communications. While the leaders of the Ministries had been cleared, they were still some suspicion of other top ranking members in each one that was under investigation for some unusual activity from them.

"Does any of this fit in with what you learned about the Mayor and his council during your investigation. Any evidence you have was obtained by my orders; if you're concerned about that."

"It was very awkward situation no doubt. What I uncovered though has convinced me that this security investigation was needed." The special liaison showed them pictures and copies of the files she took. She also played the audio she recovered. Each piece of evidence she presented showed that Mayor Bourgeois had been in touch with some of the ministries suspects and that he gathered a lot of information on the heroes. The audio had picked up conversations in the hotel about the staff wondering why their boss was acting very strange as of late.

"While I wasn't able to access the files in his home office, I do know that his anagram folder stands for, "Plans to gain power in Paris by any means necessary." Clearly he is trying to hide something, but what I can't say for certain. The secret passage in his office is troubling, but I'm not sure he's aware it exists."

"I hate to believe that Mayor Bourgeois is conspiring with members of the ministries for a yet determine purpose, but your evidence is compelling. As for the heroes your right about finding out as much as we can about them. I don't believe in magic despite the many eyewitness testimonies telling me it does exist."

"If they have some advance technology that allows them do the things they do, isn't our responsibility to learn about it and what threat it possess to international security?" Ms. Decker added.

"Agreed, here's my suggestion. Captain Tremaine, some of your officers should continue to investigate the conspiracy we uncovered to gather enough evidence for an arrest. The rest of them can join you in interviewing the list of Akuma victims we've obtained. Ms. Decker the same goes for you. Divide the team up to complete peace building and anyone with special talents assist with this task. Is that okay with everyone?" They all nodded in agreement. It was time to start zeroing in on their suspects and get to the truth of the matter.


	3. Investigations: B

**All police procedures and the use of forensic hypnosis are legal in France. Please do not attempt to hypnotizes yourself unless you have been trained to do so. Also I follow the episode guide as it was aired in France.**

* * *

In Captain Tremaine's office, a heated discussion was going on between him and Ms. Decker, while Ms. Gardien went over the legal ramifications by the idea put forward this morning. They had organized the list of all Akuma victims that were well known. There had been a few that no one had been able to identify. It had been established that the victims claimed they couldn't remember anything that happened to them, yet Captain had come up with a solution that might help.

In cases like these, it was common practice to use a trained forensic hypnologists to help the witnesses or victims recall details of a crime, which they couldn't remember otherwise. Depending on the case; a judge would decide if it was admissible in court. There was no rule that hypnosis couldn't be used to help police investigations as long as they session was videotaped and recorded. The session also had to be done by a trained forensic hypnologists. They did have one in the city, the problem was that he was a member of the Peacekeepers which was causing an ethical and legal problem.

"We need all the help we can get if we're to track down this Hawkmoth character. If he's the head of a terrorist cell, then these attacks could be tests to perfect something before the real attack begins."

"I'm not arguing that Captain Tremaine, the problem is that I can't just order our man to do your job for you. Dr. Lee Pulos, (real person whose site I used to get the information,) hasn't used his training in a mission before. Mostly, he helps victims who've experienced great trauma, come to terms with their experience, and help start their recovery. Don't you have someone you can call for this?"

Captain Tremaine shook his head and explained it would take about a week for one to get here and every day that past would make it harder to obtain the information. "You have a man here that can help us now. You picked him specifically for this peacekeeping mission as well as the secret security investigation. If you weren't planning on using him, why assign him to this team?"

Ms. Decker responded by saying that she thought he could be helpful watching the questionings to help identify if someone was lying about something. Besides, Dr. Pulos only had a medical licenses for use in the USA. When Captain Tremaine used her own words against her about him helping on other peace missions, she responded by telling him that in those incidents he had the local government's permission to help victims, not use his expertise to solve cases.

The arguing went back and forth for nearly a half hour before Ms. Gardien whistled to gain their attention. "Alright, settle down. This isn't a usual mission we're on. We've been tasked with helping ensure the security of a country and determine if our suspects are a threat. So I propose a compromise."

"The main issue here is that we're worried about the legal and ethical ramifications about the use of Dr. Pulos techniques. Why don't we ask him what _he_ wants to do first?" she suggested while holding back her sarcasm. A few minutes later the man was in the office and being informed of what the Paris police force wanted him to do. Thinking it over, he agreed to do what they wanted as long as the standards were met.

Ms. Decker also insisted that they were only to question the victims, not illicit any private information. Also consent had to be given by each person or in the cases of the minors, their parent's consent before questioning them. The captain agreed with this and promised they would only use the information as use to generate leads that would be backed up by other evidence.

"Now that an agreement has been reached. I believe we should first question the adults seeing as they can give consent on their own. Not to mention there's only five on the list so it should only take a day or so to do the sessions."

* * *

After picking up the victims on the list, they were all brought down to police headquarters. Each was given the same speech that nothing they said would be self-incriminating themselves in any manner and that the questioning would only be about what their experience was about. They were free to do a regular interview if they didn't want to undergo the session. Each gave their consent and the first one to be interviewed would be Xavier Ramier/ Mr. Pigeon.

Mr. Ramier sat in a comfy chair looking at Dr. Pulos. Behind him, an officer was running the equipment as both. Ms. Decker and Gardien stood in the room as independent witnesses. Outside, Captain Tremaine and one of his officer, watched through the special glass to make certain that the session was normal and legal.

Dr. Pulos used a standard technique to put the man in a trance like state. Giving basic instructions. he asked Mr. Ramier to focus on the time he spent as Mr. Pigeon and if he recalled anything related to a man going by the name Hawkmoth.

 _"I was sitting on a bench near the river. I was extremely sad and angry about how the park keeper treated me. I remember a black butterfly flying near me. A second later I heard a voice in my head._

 _"He called himself Hawkmoth. He pretended he understood my problem a small part of me knew he didn't care at all. That part was soon pushed out as I felt my body changing. It hurt for a second, but then I felt this power throughout my body and I felt connected on a whole new level with my beloved pigeons. From then all I cared about was terrorizing Paris._

 _I'm attacking Ladybug and Chat Noir in a cage and my pigeons are about to poop all over them. That voice enters my head again and I can feel pressure over my face. There's some kind of pink outline on my face. Hawkmoth is yelling loudly. He wants me to take Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous. Their jewelry and I don't know why._

 _We're battling again in the aviary. I can see and hear Chat Noir reacting to the feathers all around us. His breathing is starting to get harder and his body is shaking. He's having an allergic reaction to the feathers. Again my own personal feelings, the part of me that wants to stop and get the boy to a hospital before he had a full on allergy attack is washed away. The energy coming from Ladybug slows me down and she defeats me. I'm vaguely aware of the black butterfly's reappearance, but only when it turns white am I myself again. The memories fade away."_

Roger was up next. He looked nervous and it was clear he didn't want to do it, but he would not show weakness in front of his captain.

 _"What happened in that classroom was wrong. The mayor has the power to control the police in an emergency situation. His daughter's missing bracelet is not an emergency yet he fired me anyways for following my training. I'm super angry at this._

 _I'm in the flying car trying to get rid of Ladybug and Cat Noir, but the mayor's daughter Chloe, won't be quiet. She is complaining about her problems and wanting to arrest a classmate with no evidence. Doesn't she understand that she's been arrested? I leave the car to get the Miraculous because Hawkmoth's voice is easier to put up with._

 _While I wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to arrive, my head and eyes hurt. Soon my whole body hurts. For a few minutes I'm not aware of anything. Only when I regain control do I realize Hawkmoth was using my body for himself to help plan his next move. I feel violated. I want to get rid of the armor over my body, but I can't. When Ladybug slips inside the office I hope that she and her partner can free me from this prison."_

Theo's session was a bit different than the other two. He started describing his experience.

 _"I'm so happy I will finally get a chance to meet Ladybug, to be her partner, and possible love interests. The transformation to my body is hurting a lot. I'm a teenager again and I'm not use to my shape. While I look like Chat Noir I'm not him. The script I've been given isn't complete and I realize how fake I am._

 _I make small mistakes. Using the wrong hand, my own voice slipping into the conversation, using my new powers only to be trapped. The worst part is in this body I'm feeling the actual Chat Noir's feelings. He's loyal to his partner, he'll do anything for her. He loves her so much, but he's not sure she realizes this._

 _What he said before was the act of teenager trying desperately to hold out hope for something he might never have. As I fight to take out the Chat I see Ladybug and for the first time realize how young she truly is. I feel sick inside, I'm a twenty something adult crushing on a teenager. That isn't right."_

Mr. D'Argencourt and Fred Haffele sessions are virtually the same. They felt immense guilt for disappointing their families. They use their powers to get revenge and in the moment, they didn't care who they hurt. After it's all over they have to live with the deeds they had done. No one blames that because it was the akuma, instead they blame themselves for allowing their emotions getting out of control and put them on Hawkmoth's radar. How in the world can he sense their emotions? Is he close by or are his little butterflies' spies for him? Neither man knows.

When the sessions were over the men were allowed to leave. Captain Tremaine thanked them all for coming in. Ms. Decker decided to take her friend to get something to eat and relax for a bit. Those sessions had lasted for a few hours and it had been draining to push through the mental block they all had.

A few members of the Peacekeeping Force stayed behind to help go through the audio and video to check for mistakes. The police needed the extra help as they tried to form a file on their criminal suspect. Ms. Gardien excused herself saying she needed to relax for a while and would be back soon.

* * *

The greatest secret of the UN Security Council, just picked a random direction and started walking around. It was nice to simply enjoy some free time. Between missions and training, she had very little time to just be in the moment. To feel alive and free. Her loyalties were to the world. She wished she get to explore it more often.

"It's been approximately four years, five months, and seven days since I've been given a chance for a little downtime. Even if it's only a few hours, it's going to be the best time of my life."

Strolling down the street she found her way to the river Seine. Finding a comfortable bench she watched boats cruising down the river. The birds were flying all over the place and the hum of the city was very relaxing. She saw mimes on the street earning a living and couples walking down the street which mystified her. "My research stated that the French don't date, they perfected the method of non-date dating. Well romantic relationships were never my forte."

A short time later she visited the Eiffel Tower, the only monument that she had her heart set on seeing up close. It was the entrance for the 1899 World Fair. Many Parisian artists had protested its construction because of the design and how ugly it would be compared to the architecture of Paris at the time.

Constructing the tower had been rather difficult and the cost was enormous. Because of how careful Gustave Eiffel was in the construction and his strict safety rules, only one person died during its two year construction. The tower had been scheduled to be taken done in 1909 when its permit went back the city, but it survived because it was a vital to communications at the time. When the Allies came to free Paris from the Occupation Hitler ordered the destruction of the tower, but the man in charge refused. Since then, the Eiffel Tower had been carefully preserved and improved on, as no one wanted the now beloved structure, to be destroyed.

"A monument that has stood the test of time. The greatest thing about the Eiffel Tower in my opinion that it had drawn so many different people to view it showing that one building can really bring people together. Gustave Eiffel truly was a man ahead of his time."

She continued her stroll with no destination in mind. As she walked down one of the streets a sense of familiarity came over her. "I've never been to Paris before. I shouldn't be feeling this." As she said that a breeze tickled her nose as he inhaled a scent that was familiar. It smelled like lotion, with a hint of wood and a tinge of damp turtle. It made her feel safe and happy.

"Hmm where is that scent coming from? I don't see anything that could produce a scent like that." She paused in front of a healer's clinic wondering if what she smelled was some natural herbs. Her stomach rumbled indicating that she needed to get something to eat. "I'm sure there's a café or bakery somewhere nearby." With purpose she strolled away; unaware that two pairs of eyes lingered on from the healer's clinic.

To her utter delight she found herself only a block from the school she had spoken at. There was a bakery, "Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie." The young woman licked her lips. "I never get to have sweets. I have to get some." She entered the bakery and saw a beautiful woman standing behind the counter.

"Welcome, is there anything that I can help you with?" Sabine asked kindly.

"I'm not sure what to buy. I've never had a chance to eat sweets before. What would you recommend?"

"Well we have all kinds of breads and rolls. I personally love the cinnamon rolls, I just made them today. My daughter's famous cookies are always a sweet treat. I can tell you more about our selections if you like?"

Nicole/Peace Keeper shook her head and bought a few cinnamon rolls and three boxes of cookies. She wanted to have enough to last her the rest of the mission. Leaving the bakery, she stopped at the park to look at the statue of the heroes. In the sculpture she could see the innocents and love the two had, but whether it was Theo's whimsical thoughts or the truth had yet to be determined.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that she needed to get back to the station. Walking to the nearest bus stop she paused for a moment near a rather large mansion. Her ears started ringing. She heard a voice that sounded like it was right next to her.

 _"You're pathetic Nooroo! I know you have been resisting giving me all your power! I need it!" A middle age man's voice screamed._

 _"I give you what I can Master. I'm weak and haven't eaten for days. Please let me have something to eat."_

 _There was the sound of someone slapping something hard and the weak fluttering of wings. Footsteps echoed loudly coming to halt before the weak flapping. The rustle of fabric indicated the person was going to slam their foot down on the living creature._

 _"STOP RIGHT NOW! LEAVE THAT BUTTERFLY ALONE!" she heard herself say. She heard the male voice asking who was there, but she felt herself drifting away._

"Ugh, what was that? I really need to get some rest tonight." Getting on the bus the secret agent went back to the police station to help finish going through the recorded sessions.

* * *

That night, Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived at their usual meeting spot. A series of rooftops on the buildings nearest the Tower. Instead of patrolling that night Ladybug wanted to talk to something about important.

"Where is that silly chat? He should have been here by now," Ladybug muttered to herself.

"I've been practicing my cat calls to serenade my queen, which is why I'm late," Chat Noir said as he slinked down the rooftop smiling at her. "Do you want to hear them? I've been practicing some _cat_ chy tunes."

"Can you ever be serious kitty? Oh, why are you calling me queen? I thought I was your lady?"

"Oh bugaboo, don't tell me you weren't aware that female cats are known as queens. You are the greatest queen Paris has ever had," he joked giving her his cat like smile.

Ladybug frowned at him wishing he take this meeting more seriously. "As much as I enjoy your puns Chaton I called this meeting for a reason. Have you felt anything strange lately when you're a civilian? A few nights ago I was in my civilian form and felt like someone was watching me. Then yesterday in school, my Kwami and I, had a slight headache at the same time and I felt eyes on me again."

" _Cat_ lie, the same thing happened to me. Only it felt like someone was poking around my thoughts. You think its Hawkmoth's doing? My Kwamii told me he didn't think Hawkmoth could read minds of people who haven't been akumatized."

"I'm not sure, if he knew who we really were, he would just come out and take our Miraculous? I think we should just be extra cautious until we know for certain."

"Agreed. I'll call you if something else happens. I have to get home M'lady. See you later!" Chat Noir started to run home as Ladybug swung back to her bakery. Hopefully they would figure out this mystery before they got into serious trouble.

* * *

At school the next day, Marinette was tired and struggling to stay awake. After coming home from her meeting she had done some work on her unconventional outfit. She had finished getting the muslin cut and had started on the pant legs. She had halfway finished one leg before she called it a night.

"Marinette you really need to stop pulling these all-nighters. It costing you much needed sleep so you can arrive on time," Alya suggested to her best friend.

"I know, but there's only so many hours in a day. Between school, being class rep, the bakery and crushing on Adrien, I can only squeeze so much time in for designing and making."

"Learn to prioritize girl. Then you'll have more than enough time for everything." The door opened as Ms. Bustier came in the classroom. Surprisingly, she was accompanied by Mr. Damocles' and Sabrina's dad and one other officer. The students went silent and were wondering what was going on.

"Students, Mr. Damocles has announcement to make. Before he does, I want to assure all of you that you have done nothing wrong and that you wouldn't be getting into trouble. Mr. Damocles?"

"Thank you Caline. Students, a lot of change has been going on for several months now. Not only has a school have to upgrade to new security standards and create new drills for you to practice, we also have to be concerned about people being turned into Akumas. Since most of you in the class have been changed, either into one or become a slave/witness, the police would like to speak to each of you to help them to narrow their search for this Hawkmoth character."

The students started mumbling to themselves. Alya was super excited going on about how this would be great for her blog. Nino slouched down a little anxious about being questioned about his time as a supervillain. Chloe was complaining and stating there was no way her day would be spent on talking to the police.

Marinette and Adrien stayed quiet. The police had always done their best to protect the citizens of Paris from danger, but they usually left the Akumas up to Ladybug and Chat Noir, who were equipped to handle the crises. Did the police know something they didn't? If they did, it would be helpful to find out what it was.

Sabrina's dad went on to explain that their parents had been notified and would meet them at the station to give their consent and be supportive of their children. The questioning would take up their morning classes so they were excused from them. After that the students were escorted out of their classroom by the officers and traveled to nearby station to begin their questioning.

When they arrived at the station it was a bit of a mad house. Several parents were arguing with officers. A few Peacekeepers had been assigned to calm them each down and explain what was going on as the police assured them that nobody was in trouble. Alix spotted her dad and brother Jailil, both who seemed calmer than most.

The door to the Captain's office open as an angry Mayor Bourgeois stepped out yelling at Tremaine loudly saying he was abusing his power and that he would take control. Ms. Gardien exited the office and started to talk to the man in calm voice. Her attempts to pacify him didn't work as he stormed out of the station taking Chloe with him. Captain Tremaine whispered something the special liaison who could only shrug her shoulders and gave him a short reply.

* * *

It seemed the mayor's explosive display had an effect on the other parents. They all quieted down and sat on the chairs offered. Their children joined them. Once again, Captain Tremaine assured them once again that nobody was in trouble and that they would respect the parents' choice to give consent or not to the questioning. All the police wanted to do was find out why the kids' classmates had been targeted and if they knew something that would be helpful in the investigation.

They would all have to wait their turn to be questioned, especially the ones undergoing forensic hypnosis. It was important that everything was thoroughly documented. Aurore Beaureal and Jalil had been questioned earlier so the first up was Ivan, Nino, and Alya. All three kids were nervous, but their parents assured them it would be okay.

With Ivan being the first victim, anything he could recall would be very useful for the joint team.

 _"I remember being angry the first time because Kim was making fun of a song I wrote for Mylene. I worked so hard on it and all he could do was make fun of me? As I was standing outside the principal's office I locked my hand around the paper in my hand and I couldn't put it down no matter what. Rage filled me and I suddenly couldn't focus anymore on anything, but Kim._

 _What happened next is still bits and pieces. All I can really remember is Ladybug and Chat Noir trying to find a rhythm to work together before I was myself again. I thought it would the end of that, but I was wrong._

 _The next day no one would believe me I didn't remember being a monster. The worst of them was Chloe. She was being extremely cruel and spiteful that day. Marinette tried to help keep my spirits up and told to sing my feelings for Mylene, but later I found out I was too loud to be understood. Again all I felt was rage, but this time it was centered on Chloe and I was desperate for Mylene._

 _My brain was slowly shutting down and I felt like I was disappearing. Then Ladybug helped me kiss Mylene and I was in control again. The two heroes helped me a lot and I promised myself I would never get that angry again."_

Nino wanted to hide away when it was his turn. He wanted to beg his parents to not make him do this, but they were firm believers in confessing your sins made you stronger.

 _"My best bud Adrien was hurt again. I know I shouldn't have pushed so hard with his dad, but I couldn't help myself. For days Adrien had been telling me how restricted he felt and that he didn't even like his birthday anymore. That was wrong._

 _The party was in the house and I thought everyone was having fun, even if I was forcing them to. Adrien appeared to be happy at first, then he just looked sad again. I knew deep down this wasn't fixing the situation my best friend was in. Even without his dad there, Adrien couldn't have fun because he felt guilty._

 _Hawkmoth kept yelling at me once Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up. He wanted me to capture them and strip them of their Miraculous, only my brain was too focused on having fun. I guess it was a good thing because I was returned to normal soon after. "_

Alya wanted to record her own hypnotic session to post on her blog. Thankfully her mom confiscated the phone reprimand her daughter for not taking this seriously.

 _"As Lady Wi-Fi I wanted the truth exposed more than anything. At the time I didn't focus as much on my powers as I did on getting the truth. When I was using my phone to produce icons it tingled a lot. Same when I traveled from phone to phone. I felt like I blinked and suddenly I was somewhere else. Only after when I turned to normal did I wonder how I did those things. I wanted to be able to do them in my regular life, but I had nothing to go on."_

Alix, Nathanael, Kim, and Mylene were the last ones to undergo hypnosis. What they recalled was very specific and helped the police hypotheses how Hawkmoth did the things he did.

 _"It was rush. I never felt so high in my life and I was craving the life force of all my friends. I couldn't be sure what I saw or what was happening to me. Even when my brain felt like it was splitting in two different bodies, I just wanted more of whatever I had been drugged with. I knew that somehow I was responsible for so many people fading from existence, but I didn't care."_

* * *

 _"I couldn't believe that Marinette had agreed to go on a date with me! I was trying so hard to make everything perfect I didn't realize how Hawkmoth took control of my body. He threaten to take my powers away and I felt so vulnerable! His whispering voice got into my head._

 _Marinette wasn't acting like Chloe that day. She had been trying so hard to be there for everyone. To help Sabrina with the project, get Chloe to see that was she was doing was wrong, even if that miserable brat couldn't understand. Even when she helped Chat Noir to change me back, she wasn't trying to betray me. All she wanted was me as her friend back. I'm glad she still wanted to be after the incident."_

* * *

 _"I had saved up all that money to give Chloe that pin and all she could do was laugh in my face! At that moment wiping out love felt like the best idea to heal my broken heart. I couldn't understand how I managed to gain control of Chat Noir after he took that hit for Ladybug. I thought his suit protected him from Akuma attacks. Hawkmoth was thrilled. He made us work together to get Ladybug's earrings and afterwards I had an arrow ready to pierce his heart for good!_

 _Seeing Chloe during the fight and listening her complain about her clothes and hair, I realized something. That girl couldn't accept any love from anyone because all she cared about was herself. Knowing that made me feel so much better that my resolve started to weaken. I guess that's how Ladybug managed to get her partner back after she kissed him. As I returned to normal I could feel Hawkmoth angrily ranting in my head before stopping."_

* * *

 _"Being a slime monster wasn't as a scary as I thought. I captured so many people that it was hard to tell who was who. I did enjoy making Chloe suffer for the way she treated me earlier. I was so lucky Ivan was there. He really helped me remember who I was and break the grip Hawkmoth had on me. I remember being shocked that Ladybug knew my calming down song. Chat Noir is also a pretty good drummer."  
_

As Mylene finished her session, Nicole in her head went over the sessions she witnessed. A pattern was staring to emerge about how Hawkmoth chose his victims. From what the victims said somehow these butterflies seemed to be drugging the victims and unleashing unknown technology to give them powers. Well that would be the line of though the police would be following. She on the other hand, needed finish questioning the non-akumatized classmates. She had a feeling they would provide her with missing piece of the puzzle.

Adrien was sitting around next the Gorilla as he watched Nathalie arguing again with the officer at the desk. She kept going on about how bringing him here was a direct violation of his personal rights and that he wouldn't be answering any questions, without a lawyer, that is if they even stayed. Knowing what she said next would probably be the end of this argument he got ready to leave.

"Mr. Agreste will be very displeased by this police trap. Seriously, your excuse is flimsy at the best! I will not have you traumatizing Mr. Agreste's son. We are leaving right now." Nathalie declared.

"I'm afraid I have to ask you to stay Ms. Sancoeur. What you thing is a trap is actually a very real threat to the security of Paris," a familiar voice said. Adrien's eyes widened as he saw Ms. Gardien walking over them with a patient smile and air of confidence. She greeted the Gorilla and held her hand out for Nathalie to shake. When she didn't the special liaison lowered her hand.

Nathalie saw the UN badge attached to Ms. Gardien jacket and raised a single eyebrow. "A threat to Paris's security really? Why would the UN be interested in what a child has to say? This is more proof that this is thinly disguised attempt to embarrass Mr. Agreste."

The UN member ignored the sarcasm and accusations slide right past her. "Ms. Sancoeur, I understand that we have put you in a difficult situation. The police asked some of the Peacekeepers to assist in questioning victims and witnesses to these akuma attacks for a good reason. Whoever this Hawkmoth person is, he is clearly a threat to both the city and the President himself."

Reaching past Nathalie, Nicole took the report the officer handed her. She started to read it and remarked out loud. "According to this, an akuma took occupation of the Agreste mansion to throw a birthday party for young Mr. Agreste here. There are other reports from other classmates of him being trapped or turned into a servant because of these things."

She handed the report over to Nathalie giving the woman a chance to look it over. The assistant did acknowledge these incidents had happened. Nathalie understood that getting Adrien's perspective would help build a profile of who the police were searching for, but she knew Mr. Agreste would be against this.

The situation was taking out of her hands when Adrien spoke up and said. "I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. I want to help keep my friends safe. Nathalie and my bodyguard will be with us right?"

"Yes they will. They are your guardians right now and as such can join you to give you advice. The only rule I have is that you must answer the questions. If there's any interruption, I might have to ask them to leave."

Adrien nodded and straightened his jacket to better hide Plagg as they were escorted into an interview room. She made sure the chairs were extra comfy so the adults would not complain. The Gorilla decided to stay standing in case of trouble. Ms. Gardien started the questioning by addressing him as Mr. Agreste when Adrien interrupted her.

"You can call me Adrien. Mr. Agreste is my father."

"Very well then Adrien. I only have a few questions and then you can be on your way. Please answer them as honestly and detailed as you can okay?" The boy nodded eager to help.

"According to your friends you just started attending public school this year correct?" Adrien nodded his head. "Good, that means you have had time to observe your classmates from a fresh perspective. Your friend Nino, mentioned that he was turned into an Akuma because he wanted to throw you a party. Is that right?"

Adrien nodded. "Yes, my father didn't think it was a good idea and that I should stay focused on my schedule. I was shocked when I saw Nino turned into the Bubbler. He was himself and at the same time someone I didn't know. I didn't know what to do. I've never had a party and this might have been my only chance so I ignored the danger and just joined the fun."

Nathalie gave him a stern look. "You joined in the fun with a dangerous monster in the courtyard? What were you thinking?"

Ms. Gardien reminded the assistant that she was to remain quiet unless giving legal advice. She also added that the human brain didn't completely mature until twenty five so his response to the situation was a normal teenager reaction. The Gorilla grunted in agreement.

"At times you have been caught out in the open during an attack. Have you noticed any unusual behavior from them?"

"Define unusual. When Akuma's attack anything can happen. From my hiding spots I can get a peek of them. Nothing distracts them from their purpose unless Ladybug and Chat Noir appear. Then the fighting and damage comes and I'm hiding somewhere else until it's over and I have to get back to where I was."

"So escaping attacks is your preferred method to dealing with these attacks. I have to say that surprises me slightly." Adrien schooled his face trying to remain calm. He had to answer the questions carefully to avoid giving away his secret.

"I'm not calling you a coward. You're classmates describe you as a perfect gentlemen and that you will stand up to bullies who are hurting your friends. Someone like that sounds like they be doing whatever they could to assist during an attack."

Once again Nathalie jumped in explaining how important Adrien was and that his bodyguard was employed to prevent someone attacking Adrien or letting him get hurt. Again she was warned to keep her thoughts to herself and if she interrupted the conversation once more she be asked to leave.

The questioning went on for another fifteen minutes without any interruptions. Adrien manage to lie about his so called transformation in a knight during the Darkblade incident and what it felt like to be encased in slime. He was surprised when Ms. Gardien asked him if he noticed a link between Chloe and the Akumas, which he admitted that his old friend excelled in making people upset.

"One more question and you're free to go. What are your thoughts about Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"Ladybug is so awesome. She courageous, caring, helpful and beautiful. She's the…." Adrien blushed so badly he was the color of Ladybug's suit. The adults in the room stared at him.

"Well it's nice to know that teenagers still get celebrity crushes. It's cute really. Do you have a crush on Chat Noir as well?"

Adrien informed her that he didn't. He just described how awesome, cool, and funny the hero was. He was always there to protect Ladybug even though it seemed no one noticed how important he was to the success of the mission. Ms. Gardien agreed with him and said they were done. As he got up to leave Ms. Gardien looked up remembering something she wanted to ask. "Um, I hope this isn't intruding into your personal life, but can you tell me where I could get some Camembert? I've been having a craving and I could not help, but notice the smell from your bag. You must like it too."

Why does Plagg have to make my stuff smell like that? Adrien wondered. He told her where he ordered his Camembert. After receiving her thanks Adrien left. He passed Marinette and her family as they were heading into the interview room. He waved at her and she shyly waved back. Seemed like she was finally getting more comfortable around him.

* * *

Sabine was surprised to see that the young woman who ordered all those cookies yesterday, was now in charge of questioning her daughter. Noticing it was the same customer from yesterday made her raise her eyebrows in confusion. "I remember you from yesterday. Are you a police officer?"

"No, I'm a Special Liaison with the UN. I had no idea this was the daughter you talked about it yesterday. I'm sorry to meet you again under these unusual circumstances. I assure you my intentions are not to harm your daughter. I'm just here to assist the police today in gathering much needed information."

Tom and Sabine informed Ms. Gardien that Marinette was not the type to get into trouble. She had a good head on her shoulders. "I can agree with that after hearing how her classmates describe her. I just need to ask some questions about her experiences with the Akumas. Her friend, Nathanael remembers approaching her in his altered state."

"Nathanael? Oh yeah, he came to me and asked me to be his date on his birthday. He seemed pretty normal except for his transformation heh heh," Marinette giggled. Her parents looked surprised. This was the first they were hearing about this.

"Marinette, why did you tell us about this? Especially when it was happening while we were home! What if your friend tried to hurt you?" Tom scolded his daughter.

"I thought if I could keep him placated, he wouldn't go after Chloe like he did earlier. He admit he liked me and I thought I could convince him somehow to turn back to normal. I wasn't in any danger, Ladybug sent Chat Noir to protect me!"

"Do you know how Ladybug knew you were in trouble or why she didn't protect you herself?"

"No. Not really, I mean what would I know about Ladybug? I'm mean she's amazing and confident. Toa totally not a klutz like me!" Marinette was getting really nervous. Inside her purse she could feel Tikki trying to help her keep calm.

"You're friend Alya mentioned that when this Stormy Weather character arrived on the scene you left to get help and didn't return for a long time. Yet according to her Ladybug told her and your charge that you had sent her."

Oh how to get out of this one. "Well I did pass her by and told her about the situation. She suggested I go get a lot of warming blankets and some hot drinks to help my friends once they were free. By the time I finished everything was back to normal."

"Marinette, you were responsible for Manon, not Alya. How could you…"

"I know I messed up Maman. I shouldn't have left her alone with Alya. I chose to go with Alya to the park when she said Adrien had a photo shoot there instead of staying at home with Manon." The teen girl looked down at the floor disappointed in herself as she remembered that lesson clearly.

Ms. Gardien gently touched the girl's shoulder getting her to look up. "We all make mistakes Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Especially when crushes are involved." The girl paled and looked like she wanted to hide. Only her parents kept her from running out the room.

"What were your feelings when your best friend was turned into this Akuma form?" This question was much easier to answer describing the intense emotions she felt and described how worried she was during the whole incident. Ms. Gardien took down some notes.

Marinette calmed down as she gave her impressions on the Akuma victims and her thoughts on her friends transformations and why they came out as they did. It was tough to answer Ms. Gardien's question when it came to was there a difference between becoming a mummy and a knight. Marinette talked her way out of this by talking about what she had heard or seen from others.

"Thank you for your cooperation in this matter Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Your answers have been very helpful. Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, thank you for being patient and understanding. You're free to go."

Marinette tried to remain calm as she left the station. She was going to go home with her parents to eat lunch before returning to school for her afternoon classes.

I hope my answers were good enough to trick Ms. Gardien. She seems like a smart woman, but I hope she isn't smart enough to figure out my secret!

* * *

That night, Peace Keeper locked all the doors and covered her windows. She ran a scan to see if there were any hidden cameras or bugs in her room. Satisfied, she used a jammer so no one could pick up her signal. Using a special cased satellite tablet she made contact with the new leader of the Security Council, President Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta.

"President Aboulatta, it is an honor to speak with you once more. My progress report is full of good news and useful information."

"Agent Peace Keeper, why are you not wearing your disguise right now?" She had removed the contacts to clean them and her wig to wash and brush it. When he heard the explanation he conceded to her point.

"Still you need to keep focused on your mission and maintain your cover at all times. When I was serving on the Counter Terrorism Committee, (a sub section of the UN Security Council), I remained focused on catching and preventing as many threats I could, especially countries who are members of the Arab League."

Peace Keeper knew of the President's illustrious career. It was required reading that know the history of any member on the Security Council to ensure communication went smoothly and also help her interact with the members on a professional level.

"I understand where you're coming from President Aboulatta. I will try in the future to be more vigilant. I've adapted some of your strategies in order to help with the situation in Paris. Would you like to hear my report?" The president nodded as he reclined in his chair.

Peace Keeper gave a detail and precise report on the activities of the joint team. She highlighted the accomplishments of her fellow Peacekeepers. President Aboulatta smiled hearing the original mission had been successful. Encouraged Peace Keeper continued her report clearing President Hollande and his Cabinet from suspicion of pretending ignorance."

"Did you have an independent party verify the Parisian Police findings?" Once it was confirmed that the Peacekeeping Force had gone over the same notes and double checked the facts with their own inquiries did he return to his reclining position.

"Where are you on your other two fronts? Have you determined who was responsible for leaving the President in the dark? What about the "heroes" and their "villain?"

"I uncovered a connection between Mayor Bourgeois and the top aids in certain Ministries that could add up to a conspiracy. None of us on the joint team can figure out where Ladybug and Chat Noir fit into this. For now, the police force is investigating the conspiracy to gain enough evidence to make an arrest on the mayor."

Taking a deep breath, she explained what she knew about the three stranger people. She mentioned several times the positive feedback on Ladybug and Chat Noir. The forensic hypnosis sessions and student interviews had helped to create a profile of the three beings.

"While Hawkmoth hasn't been seen since that one time the hundreds akumas had formed his face, the knowledge gathered has confirmed this man _is a terrorist_ , I don't believe he's the kind that we've dealt with. His ability to sense emotions and talk to his victims, let alone their transformations is more like…"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT"S MAGIC!" Peace Keeper fidgeted a bit. Her fingernails dug into her hands as she got her breathing under control. While most members of the Security Council didn't believe in it, the countries they represented were steeped in legends, superstitions and of course, magic. Magic that was still practiced to this day. Most people would say magic is just science not yet explained. Deep in her own heart, the young woman believed in magic and that's why she carried supplies associated with magic.

"I apologize for my wording President Aboulatta. I meant to say that its technology and drugs that we haven't had a chance to study. There are indications that this unknown tech/drugs is the same source of power for Ladybug and Chat Noir, but it is unconfirmed. Also, I'm starting to believe that they are not terrorists."

President Aboulatta asked if she was going soft. No matter how good a person acted, the security of a nation came first. It was her duty to use her skills to capture these three people and find out who they were and what their agenda was. "Because of the continuing security mission and need for the discretion, I am activating code 102687SCSPK. President Hollande will be informed of this development by morning."

Peace Keeper was shocked. That code number would corresponded to a private document that the President had no idea existed. Once he read it he would have to let the UN take over, specifically her, take the lead on the mission. That included the capturing, interrogating/torture, and sentence of the targets. It would also mean he couldn't prosecute her because of her immunity.

The secret agent tried to protest, but President Aboulatta gave her a look that silenced her. He was the one in power, he was her boss, and she would do as she was ordered. It was _her_ responsibility, not _his_ to make sure no one got hurt. Reminding her that to contact him in another week, he cut the connection.

Peace Keeper slumped on her bed. "I'm loyal to a fault. The world needs me and the Security Council wouldn't be activating that code unless they believed that France is incapable of solving the problem themselves." Rolling over in the bed she continued talking to herself. "Anyways, this is a security mission not a peace one. Being a child is no excuse if the two are terrorists."

She reached in her pocket and pulled it out. Looking at it she placed it over her heart hoping it would give her guidance. Anytime she faced a difficult situation, it was as if the charm, could tell her what the right path to take was. Right now it was telling her that she did need to talk with the heroes in private, but after that she would have to make another choice.

"Thank you little charm. You always help me when I need it the most."


	4. Captured

**Fun fact: Yogurt has been around for more than five thousands years. You'll understand the reason for this fact later.**

* * *

It was early the next morning, and President Hollande was in his office going over some initial reports, concerning the state of the economy and the status of his reforms that were currently being voted on. It had been tough year so far and his approval ratings had taken a slight hit and he was down a few points.

He was a bit on edge, not only due to the UN's secret security investigation, but he was also looking to improve his image after his latest separation to Valerie Trieweiler and her book that had hurt his reputation back in 2014. His relationship with actress Julie Gayet was still holding strong for the time being.

There was a knock at the door, looking up from his desk President Hollande had annoyed expression. He had specifically asked not to be disturbed this morning until eleven. It was only seven at the moment. He told the person to come in and it was his senior assistant. He was carrying a sealed envelope looking nervous. "I asked not to be disturbed. What's in the envelope that is so important that you disobey my orders?"

"I'm not entirely certain Mr. President. This arrive early this morning via express overnight. It's been checked over by security and is deemed not a threat. However it's marked for your eyes only sir," the assistant stated handing over the envelope. Wishing the President a good day the aide left.

Wondering what this was all about he opened the envelope. A single piece of paper slid out. On the paper there was a short message telling him the location of a secret safe in his office, the code to open it, as well as instructions on how to set up a secured private connection that would be untraceable. The note was signed with the seal of the UN Security Council, only it was a little different. There were tiny flags all around the seal and the letters PPK under it. At the bottom there was a warning in French telling him to fear the world's eyes if he strayed from what was written.

Extremely curious and understanding the secrecy of such a document, he followed the instructions. He walked towards the middle of the room and found a slight smudge on a tile that was almost hidden by the rug. Moving the rug, he got on his knees seeing for the first time, the tiny lines running through the tile. It was a mini puzzle!

Using the code, he rearranged the pieces of tile, until they were in the right place. The tile split apart as the floor started to disappear. The floor kept dropping out. He heard something being drawn upward. It was a safe! Using the same code he opened the safe. A pressured sealed glass box sat in the safe. Carefully taking it out, he realized it was a copy of the UN Charter and the French Constitution. Two sections had their own cover of them. Reading them, the President was shocked. Two hidden mandates had been encoded into the documents explaining a highly guarded secret. A mandate that took precedence over any other in both documents.

* * *

A few minutes later the documents were hidden once again and President Hollande had secured the private connection. There was a slight delay before the video chat opened and President Aboulatta face appeared on the screen. He looked calmly at President Hollande. " _Bonjur_ Mr. President. I am very pleased to see you followed the instructions. This is a very private matter."

"A private matter indeed President Aboulatta. Since when does the UN take over a government investigation and tell the person in charge to step back?" he asked angrily. He pointed to the copies of the document that had also been in the safe, to the man on the screen. "I have never seen these documents before and I have yet to verify if the signatures are legitimate let alone if these hidden mandates are even legal."

The Egyptian's eyebrows lowered a bit. He spoke with a steel tone to his voice. "If its proof you require then I suggest you talk to your representative on the Security Council who asked that you be informed about the UN secret," President Aboulatta challenged him. "The mandates have been legalized and legally binding to any countries constitution since the late eighties. If you still don't believe me then I suggest you check the journal of President Francois Mitterrand. It will confirm everything you have been presented with and the reasons behind this unusual international agreement."

President Hollande cursed his predecessor. What were they thinking into signing such a document that would cause a major impact on both a national and international scale? Not one to give up a fight; he argued that Project Peace Keeper was unnecessary. After all, the GIGN had been created to handle such matters. They didn't need a foreigner to aid them in capturing a few suspected terrorists.

President Aboulatta listened to the French leader. He didn't say or counter any statements. Yes, France was one of the most secured countries in the world. The illustrious history of the country and its police force was one of the best in the EU. He was well aware of President Holland's success in Mali to curb extremist jihadists. Once he finished speaking the UN Security Council President turned the tables.

He pointed out the factors that had led to this choice. One, the leaders of the country had been completely oblivious to what was going on in their own city. Furthermore, their own police force regularly relied on the two masked juveniles to help solve problems instead of arresting them and learning who they were. The joint investigation had gathered some evidence of a possible conspiracy developing in Paris that centered about his Cabinet without anyone being the wiser.

"The biggest failure was not reporting this to the world at large and keeping it a secret. At the moment, the world is unsure if they can trust you. I assume you remember this is why the UN is secretly investigating the problems in your government with your own police force? Therefore, it's necessary for our agent to take over this mission to achieve success. Project Peace Keeper can be contacted using this private channel and this number. Please contact Peace Keeper as soon as possible. I look forward to hearing more from you. Good bye."

* * *

In the nearby hotel, Peace Keeper was preparing for the inevitable call from President Hollande. Even with the special filters and voice disguiser, it was always a risk revealing her existence to the leader of a country. The less people who knew about her the better. She didn't care about the credit because she never got any. Peace, stability, and justice was reward enough for her. Hopefully President Hollande would prove trustworthy.

Finishing putting on her androgynous outfit to hide her gender her special tablet started beeping. Someone was calling her. Dousing the lights she turned on the tablet, tested the filters and voice disguiser before accepting the connection. She could see President Hollande perfectly, but he couldn't see her clearly. To him she appeared to a shadowy outline of a human without a definitive gender. "Good morning President Hollande, I've been expecting your call. I am Project Peace Keeper."

"So the secret weapon of the UN is another soldier, why are you considered an international secret? How can I trust someone who won't show their face? How do I know you're not a _terrorist?_ "

"My purpose is to protect the world and preserve the peace. You have no reason to question my loyalties, for I'm loyal to the world. The blood of hundreds of different countries and territories flow in my veins. I know more different cultures than anyone in the world. My entire purpose is to serve the world no matter what the task. Would knowing my gender be a sign of trust?"

"Knowing your gender is hardly a sign of trust."

"True, but only by working together can we accomplish anything. I don't want the credit and I believe in your own people and police forces, the UN is just being extra cautious due to your unusual circumstances." Yes, President Hollande knew what Peace Keeper meant. That didn't mean he had to like it.

"Sir, while my superiors want me to take over the entire mission, I wish to only focus on Ladybug, Chat Noir, and this mysterious Hawkmoth. I have special training when it comes to unusual people. Getting the truth about them won't take long. Of course, everything I discover will be given to you. I just require a few things."

Over the next two hours the secret agent and the President went over every detail of Peace Keeper's mission. It would be important to keep civilians safe from harm. He offered the agent a place to hold the three suspects once they were captured. Coordination between the joint team was essential if they wanted to plan a perfect mission. Peace Keeper promised that everything would be perfect and that the joint team had sent up a meeting in two days to present their findings to him. After cutting the connection she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Why is this always so nerve wracking? I can handle rescuing school girls from being captured by insurgents, but talking with world leaders leaves me sweating," she whispered to herself. She was thankful she had not admitted her gender. She lost respect half the time because of it.

She went into the bathroom to freshen up and secure her wig. Looking at her reflection in the mirror the genius reasoned the answer for her behavior. It had been drilled in her since she was small that if to many people knew about her, the world would fall into further disaster then it already was in. She was a catalyst that determined the fate of the world many times; meaning she needed to protect herself from enemies.

"It would be nice to one day make a friend or have someone know the real me, but that's as realistic as eliminating all drug trade," she told her reflection sadly. Pushing the thoughts away, she finished getting ready and headed out. Her joint team had to get ready for their big meeting with President Hollande.

* * *

The days seemed to be going by quickly and finally it was time for the emergency meeting between the joint team and the President and his Cabinet. It was being held on an off day, but everyone who was needed was present. The President's own security staff stood guard. The tension in the air made the room feel heavy.

No one spoke for a few minutes. Ms. Gardien knew she shouldn't speak up to get the conversation going. Still, it was clear that President Hollande was still troubled by his conversation with her a few days ago. He also didn't seem ready to tell his Cabinet about the secret security mission the Peacekeepers had been involved with.

"Pardon me for speaking out of turn. It obvious all of you are wondering what is going on and the purpose of this meeting. I will be frank with you." Looking at each one of the Ministers she told them point blank about the UN's security mission and that they had each been investigated to see if any of them had been part of a conspiracy to hide the presences of three powered beings who could be terrorists. Without hesitation she passed out the preliminary reports about each of them.

"We asked for this meeting with everyone present to present our findings to you so that we can help each other with plan that will not only keep the citizens of Paris safe, but capture these suspects, while arresting the person in charge of the conspiracy. President Hollande, Captain Tremaine and his officers have gathered evidence of a conspiracy they would like to share with you and you're Cabinet. May he proceed?"

President Hollande nodded and asked the man to proceed. He also order the Ministers not to interrupt the officer until after all the information was presented. Captain Tremaine nodded as he straightened his clothing before proceeding with his report.

"Through a joint team effort, we found no evidence that the government was hiding any information on purpose. Every member sitting here passed the investigation and the UN is satisfied with the results. Unfortunately, that meant that there was an ongoing conspiracy to keep the news about Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Hawkmoth, from reaching you. Since the first appearance of the duo and the fact we received no official orders from the Ministries or you Mr. President, we started an independent investigation to uncover an ongoing conspiracy," he paused for a few seconds as he nodded his head at each Peacekeeper present. "Without the Peacekeepers assistance, our investigation would have been stalled and evidence lost."

Captain Tremaine present each bit of evidence his team gathered with Ms. Decker's assistance explaining her team's part and that they had been deputized in all legal matters so that any evidence they found, would be admissible. While they hadn't discovered the entire motive for the conspiracy, they had determined who was involved and the man in charge.

The evidence showed that Mayor Bourgeois was at the head of the conspiracy. For months now he had been calling in favors and securing alliances with senior members of the Ministries of Finance and Public Accounts, Interior, Economy, and Culture, to keep the President unaware of the teenagers and crazy man. Looking into their records and personal life, it was clear theses senior members had used their power to influence the spread of information, in hopes of working together to earn a payout that was currently being held in an account labeled as victims recovery fund.

"Thanks to the help of Special Liaison Gardien, we've determined that the Mayor has some connection to the three suspects, thought the type of relationship and strengths eludes us. Documents seized show evidence that Mayor hoped to gain control over the suspects by legally binding them to him and controlled the rights to any subject matters related to them from merchandising to using them as his private guard."

Ms. Gardien added her findings at City Hall and from the City Council members. Several had mentioned possible promotions in the future and plans for improving their sections of Paris once a new budget was in place. While some of them might be on the uptake, a lot of them were being generally honest and had no idea that the Mayor was conducting possible illegal activities.

President Hollande stayed impassive as he questioned about the three suspects that had been the focus of the Peacekeepers secret mission. The special liaison spoke about the mission from gathering public opinion to gathering evidence to how these "Akumas" came to be and the danger they posed. She admitted that even if popular opinion was that the teens were heroes and this mysterious man was a villain, the only way to know for certain was to capture them for intense interrogation.

"I believe from the information we've gathered that we can essentially arrest the members of the conspiracy and at the same time draw out all three suspects. Our knowledge indicates that this Hawkmoth character is able to locate and find people who are experiencing extreme negative emotions." Ms. Gardiner explained as Ms. Decker used her tablet to illustrate a 3D rendering of their findings.

"It's still not clear how exactly how his modified butterflies deliver the drug/unknown tech to the person, but was is clear is that these victims are locked in a state of rage with no control over their body. Every attack though draws out the other suspects. So, if you arrest Mayor Bourgeois on charges of conspiracy, his emotions would likely draw Hawkmoth's attention."

The Ministers argued that it was a dangerous gamble and put the citizens of Paris at too much of a risk. They argued that if there was a conspiracy they would know because of how closely they worked with their senior staff members. Upon hearing that the President started questioning his Cabinet about how they selected their staff and if anything in their backgrounds indicated a link to the Mayor.

The Ministers answered truthfully about what they knew about the names listed in the conspiracy charge. The President's Guards pressured the Ministers about how close they were to their staff and if they had seen for themselves any signs related to the evidence. A few of them reluctantly stated yes.

The French President frowned upon hearing this. All these threats that related to him should have been brought to attention the minute they discovered something suspicious. He could fire them right then and there if he wanted, but he chose to do something different.

"It is clear to me that great changes to the senior members of the government are coming, but right now our focus is to keep everything running smoothly without alerting the conspirators that we know about them. My staff will set up for a press release so that I can declare a semi state of emergency. The city will be informed that each section will be practicing the new drills and will be locked down for different periods of time."

"Each arrondissement will be chosen at random in order to keep the citizens safe. Once the three suspects are captured and the conspirators imprisoned, I'll lift the semi emergency status. I have chosen a special agent to be handling the questioning of the suspects. This agent assures me it will only take seventy two hours to get results. We'll figure out what to do next once the information is secured. Everyone understand and agree?"

Everyone said yes as they were all dismissed. The Ministers had a lot to do if they were going to keep their jobs. The Captain left to notify his officers the delay in arresting people. The Peacekeepers agreed to help prepare the city for the "drill." After a quick exchange between Ms. Gardien and the President both parted ways knowing there was much to be done. He still was clueless that the secret agent he talked to days earlier was the Special Liaison who he had just said goodbye to.

* * *

That night, Marinette watched the press release with her parents about the semi state of emergency. "I understand that most of you are unclear what a semi state of emergency is and I will be happy to explain. Paris has returned to normal after a devastating attack. With recent increase in terrorist attacks in our neighboring countries it is necessary that we test the new safety procedures if another terrorist attack strikes. To that end, I have been working with the police and Mayor Bourgeois, to arrange for the testing."

Marinette listened closely as the President explained how over the next several days different arrondissement would be randomly selected to go into safety measures for an undetermined amount of time. No one was to enter or exit the area except for the official who would be evaluating the testing. The testing would end with a full city lock down.

The Mayor assured everyone that while this would be a minor inconvenience he promised that he would ensure that the city continued to run as efficiently. He asked that the people cooperate as the government did their testing. "It is up to all of you to help your neighbors and friends, keep safe. One can never be too cautious when it comes to keeping our beloved city safe." At the bakery Sabine and Tom nodded their heads in agreement while Marinette bit her lip.

"I'm going to my room to work on my garment. Is that that okay?" Her parents gave her an okay and she scampered off to her room. Upon entering Tikki flew over to her. "Marinette what is wrong?"

"Nothing really. I just felt like working on my garment. Its due by the end of the week and I still have a lot to do," she replied. The legs of the jumpsuit had been finished as well as the sleeves. She needed to finish the collar, top, and waist. Adding the zipper and disguising the "bum flap" would be a challenge, but she was sure she could do it.

"Marinette, I can tell something is bothering you. Does it have something to do with the news report? I heard some of it. The city appreciates everything Ladybug and Chat Noir do."

"I know they do Tikki and I do think it's a good idea to practice safety procedures, but at the same time is this right? What if it's too much safety?"

Tikki flew around her chosen one's head before plopping on the desk. "You're not alone in your thinking you know. Other Ladybugs have often asked the same question. There must be a balance between safety and freedom. All you can do right now is to wait and see what will happen." Marinette nodded her head thanking her Kwamii for the advice.

* * *

At his mansion Adrien was half listening as Nathalie complained about the hassle it would be to schedule Adrien's activities without prior notice of what areas would be locked down without any idea when they'd be free to go. "This is a nightmare, at least we can keep your normal activities scheduled, the question is how to schedule these photo shoots this week."

"Maybe we should not schedule any this week. They could be interrupted at any moment. While we're following safety procedures the shoot can't continue."

"Don't be ridiculous Adrien. Fashion never stops no matter what is happening in the world. There are deadlines to meet and products to sell. Doing your job is very important to your father."

"His safety is also important to me," a slightly cold voice said. Adrien and Nathalie looked at the door, both surprised to see Mr. Agreste standing in the doorway. With his hands folded behind his back he walked over to two of them as Nathalie obediently handed over the planner.

"While fashion is important, I will not jeopardize Adrien's safety," he stated as he started outlining the schedule himself. He looked at his son who was doing his best to keep his surprise hidden.

"While I find this semi state of emergency annoying, I do feel it's in your best interest not to be caught out in the open during any type of attack. For the next few days you're will be only attending school and fencing. Otherwise I expect you to be in this house. Am I clear?"

"Yes Father I understand."

"Good. Your bodyguard will be with you at all times until this semi state of emergency is lifted. Nathalie, please keep me updated of my son's location. I will be at the office the next few days to get as much work done as possible in between these inconveniences." Nathalie nodded as Mr. Agreste left the room leaving both occupants a bit confused.

* * *

Morning was slowly approaching as the night gave away as the dawn pushed through. Inside her hotel room, Nicole/Peace Keeper sat on the bed meditating. Today would be the start of her true purpose here. Secrets on top of secrets, something she was very used to. Clearing her mind, she mentally prepared herself for today's events. As the sun peeked through her windows she opened her eyes.

"It is time," she whispered to herself. She systematically got ready for the day. She strapped her holster to her waist, tucking in her pistol. In the lining of her jacket she placed a few magical items. On her upper thighs, hidden by the skirt, holsters for different items lay against them. She placed fake fingernails on hers and added a choker to her neck. Picking up her suit case she was ready to go.

Captain Tremaine picked her up as they drove to their first set destination, arrondissements twelve, seven, and one. "Everything is running smoothly so far. The first set of arrondissements will be under lock down in a few minutes. My officers are already in place to arrest the first of the conspirators."

"Excellent. No one will be wondering why they are being escorted out of their neighborhoods. Since they're high ranking officials it would make sense that they would be talking with the police. How long will you be able to hold them for?"

"The prosecutor has consent to have the detained for the maximum nighty six hours due to their crimes. Hopefully the judge will keep them in detention until their trial."

"Let's hope Mayor Bourgeois' lawyer will advise compliancy. Whatever he does, this is going to be a very high profiled case."

Mayor Bourgeois was working in his home office when the door opened. Looking up he was shocked to see and hear the police enter the office with Ms. Gardien standing off to the side. "What is the meaning of this? How dare you enter my home and office without contacting me ahead of time! What is Ms. Gardien doing here?"

Captain Tremaine stepped forward along with a few other officers who had handcuffs out. "Ms. Gardien is a deputized officer and a witness in a joint investigation by the UN Peacekeepers and the French police. We are here to arrest you Mayor Bourgeois and take you into custody."

"Custody? Are you out of your mind Captain Tremaine? I'm ordering you to leave right now or I'll have your job for this!" The mayor had lost his temper and was standing up. He looked ready to throw his desk lamp at him when the cops wrestled the cuffs on him.

"Andre Bourgeois, you are under arrest for charges of conspiracy and obstruction of national security going back at least eight to nine months. You are temporary stripped of your power and position until otherwise notified. You will be held for ninety six hours. If you have a lawyer he is welcome to meet us at the station. Do you wish to inform your daughter of your circumstances?"

Taking the growl for no, Captain Tremaine continued to read the man his rights and the mayor signed the statement that he understood all that had been said to him. He was led out the staff entrance to avoid being seen by hotel visitors. Once he was in the back of the police car, Captain Tremaine thanked Ms. Gardien for her help as the rode the car back towards the station.

Ms. Gardien listened as _Mr._ Bourgeois, (right now he had no rank), cursed her from the backseat. He shouted how once his lawyer got to him he would clear up this misconception and be back home by dinner. They on the other hand would be locked up in detention for years before they got a chance at trial. "I will personally see that you never enter the city limits of Paris, no France, no all of Europe ever again."

"Mr. Bourgeois, I work for the United Nations, not for the city of Paris or the French government. I was being honest with you every time we met. My position was a formality and I was hoping to help students gain interest in the Peacekeepers force. If you had just answered the questions we had at the police station with your daughter, we could have avoided this."

"Don't you dare talk about my Chloe!" he shouted. In a fit of anger, the normally well-tempered man lost his cool and tried to strike Ms. Gardien in the back of her head. She turned, bringing up her hand to protect her face as the man's hand bruised against the lattice separating them.

"Calm down back there. Do you want to draw attention to yourself? The whole point of this secrecy is to protect your daughter from any ramifications of your arrest. Don't worry, Chloe will be fine. Officer Roger has agreed to take her home for a few days."

At the mention of his daughter, Mr. Bourgeois calmed down a bit. He was keeping his anger in check, but you could tell it was taking all his will not to start acting up again. He mindlessly flicked a tiny tip of the false nail off his hand. He didn't see in the review mirror a small grin appear on Ms. Gardien's face for a few seconds. The first part of the plan was a success, it was the next few parts that were filled with danger.

* * *

In his hideout, Hawkmoth paced in the shadows in his civilian form. Floating nearby was a severely weak butterfly kwami named Nooroo. His mauve color was fading to deathly white. His wings flapped slowly and his eyes had become slightly glazed. Nooroo hadn't eaten anything in days.

"I demand an answer Nooroo! Before you couldn't talk to me when you were in your Miraculous and now you can! Was it you yelling at me those times before, trying to mess with my mind?" The man bellowed.

"No Master, it wasn't me! I don't have the ability to do throw my voice! I do not know what happened!" the little Kwami pleaded for his life. He didn't know how much longer he could take being a slave.

"Then what happened then? Twice, I felt as if someone was standing next to me, listening through my own ears, to what I was saying! Now, I can hear your little voice anytime I transform."

Nooroo hesitated before answering. "As a Miraculous Wielder, you grow stronger over time, new abilities develop. Your bond with me mostly like is strong enough now to hear me transformed. It is way to help our chosen during battle."

Hawkmoth stopped pacing and glared at the little butterfly. He didn't needed helpful advice from Nooroo. What he needed was the little butterfly to give him enough power to continue to make Akumas without having to detransform to his civilian identity. "That still doesn't explain the presences I felt or the female voice that echoed across this room days ago. Was it Ladybug?"

"No Master, the Ladybug Miraculous doesn't have that power. I'm not sure what we heard, but we'll find out together."

"You mean I will and when I do that person is going to pay." Nooroo nodded as he began to fall slowly to the ground. He needed to recharge in the next few minutes or he would be very sick. Hawkmoth went further into the darkness and took something off a table. It was a container of yogurt.

He slowly tore the lid halfway off. "You can have half of the yogurt now. If you managed to help me create an Akuma that can get what I desire, you can eat the other half. Fail me and you won't be fed for a month."

Nooroo nodded as he managed to fly to the container and slowly started eating his food. It wasn't his favorite flavor blueberry, but at this point he couldn't be picky. He savored every bit of yogurt he had, wishing he had some way to store it. Finally his time was up and his precious food source was taken away from him.

"You've had enough food. It is time to get back to work. I need a new victim now. Right now, the city is full of anger, sadness, and fear. Perfect hunting grounds. Nooroo, wings open!" The mauve butterfly flew into the broach as the transformation took place.

The mask was the first thing appeared in a dazzling mauve colored light. Spreading his arms wide the purple jacket appeared covering his torso. At the same time the mauve light traveled up legs connecting with the torso completing the suit. The lights appeared in his right hand as his cane appeared. Tapping the cane down on the ground the transformation was complete.

"Now this feels much better than before. Did you miss me my winged friends?" Hawkmoth asked his flutter of butterflies. The white insects came closer upon hearing his voice. "Such beautiful creatures my little pets. Now let's see what we can find out there."

The secret window opened up wide as Hawkmoth opened his mind to the flood of emotions around him. The butterfly miraculous purpose was to grant champions the power they needed to protect and save lives. Knowing their feelings helped pick great champions, but that wasn't what he was using this for. He searched for the darker emotions. A rage that was not going away.

 _"There are many people today for you to choose from. You can still do good work if you try."_

 _"Silence Nooroo, I don't wish to speak with you. I need more power if I'm to make the ultimate akuma. Only then will I succeed in getting what I want."_

At that moment the Mayor Bourgeois emotions flooded his mind. They were beyond the normal scope of what he usually felt. Reading the emotions, he knew what had caused them in the first place. "A politician is about to lose all his power and prestige. No longer is the ruler of his own city, no he heading towards prison and the guillotine. The betrayal he feels from those he trusted is so strong. This is marvelous."

Extending his hand, one butterfly landed on his hands and allowed itself to be changed into an Akuma. "Fly away my little Akuma and evilize him." The butterfly followed the instructions perfectly. It found the car, squeezing itself through a tiny gap in the window and landed on the Mayor's sash.

Instantly a pink outline covered the Mayor's face as Hawkmoth connected with his victim. "Emperor, my name is Hawkmoth. You have been greatly wronged and unfairly arrested. I can give you the power to take back what is rightfully yours. In exchange, you will bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Agreed?"

"That's a deal I can live with!" The black mass started to cover the Mayor alerting the two other occupants. "It's happening, ditch the car now!" Ms. Gardien yelled as she shoved Captain Tremaine out of the vehicle before rolling out of the moving car.

There was an explosion as the newly formed Akuma freed himself from his confinement. Raising her pistol she got her first look at an Akuma close up and in person. Her first impression was not fear, no, it was disbelief. How could anyone dream up this crazy get up?

* * *

Mayor Bourgeois looked like Napoléon Bonaparte in the painting titled, _The Emperor Napoléon in His Study at the Tuileries._ His hair had darkened to brown and his skin had a pale blue cast to it, the same color as Bonaparte's body in a few paintings of his death on Saint Helena Island. Instead of a hat he wore a laurel wreath symbolizing him as the Emperor of France. The main difference between him and any painting of the famous general was that his hand wasn't inside his waistcoat, instead it was firmly around his sash.

"I am your Emperor! My fellow countrymen wish to betray me? Then I shall remind all of Paris why I am its greatest leader!" The akuma bellowed as he clutched the sash tightly in his hand. A sword materialized in front of him. "Victory belongs to the most preserving!" He charged forward creating a dozen of different swords all aimed at gutting Ms. Gardien, Captain Tremaine and the rest of the police backup that had arrived.

The police started shooting at the swords as Captain Tremaine radioed the station to keep the lock down up and not let any press get near the situation. He ducked and took a shot at the sword, but missed. He hissed as the sword drew blood as it slashed his hand, causing him to drop his weapon. The sword elongated itself as it got ready to behead the man when he retaliated with his baton, smashing it.

The dance between the swords and the officers continued. Many of them ditched their guns and started using their batons to fight in close quarters. The Emperor laughed at them. Gripping his sash tightly he called out loud that his army would crush theirs. All at once their soldiers materialized outnumbering the police three to one. "Attack my men! Glory to France!"

"Hold strong! Don't give into fear!" Ms. Gardien shouted. She holstered her pistol and reached into her jacket, undoing the lining and pulling out a pouch and a slingshot. "Let's see if you are sensitive to magic." Taking aim towards the lead soldier and noting where the wind was blowing, she drew back and fired.

The pouch sailed through the air and hit the street hard, its contents caught in the breeze as the police chocked for a few seconds as the grounded herbs, ranging from blessed thistle for protection against negative energy to vanilla beans to restore the wits and energy, covered them. The swords and soldiers tried to attack only for the weapons to bounce off an invisible field. This gave the police a chance to regroup and advance, pushing the army and swords back.

"Test one successful. Herb protection does work," Ms. Gardien whispered to herself. Pocketing the weapon, she did a quick sweep of the area and she couldn't find the Akuma. Someone grabbed her from behind and started to pull at her arms trying to rip them off.

"Foolish woman! Do you think a few herbs can stop me? Soldiers, advance and give them a good soaking!" Emperor command. His army obeyed as they drove their weapons into the ground and piercing the sewer lines flooding the area. The police scattered as the geyser washed off their protection.

"I will take great pleasure in killing you." Ms. Gardien leaned back and struck the man with the back of her head. Stomping on his right foot his grip loosened for a few seconds. That was all she needed to pull herself free, grab her pistol, and aimed it at the Emperor.

"I would back off Emperor, you may be a military genius, but I do recall from history you lost several battles before France banished you."

"Foreigner, you know nothing of what makes a great leader! This city will be under my control soon enough. My patron Hawkmoth has assured my victory for mere jewelry."

In response, she touched her choker. A bright strobe light effect blinded the Emperor and during its slow motion effect, the secret agent sent out a live stream to the LadyBlog. Hopefully the automatic notification would get the "heroes" attention and bring them right here. Until then, it was her against a crazy man.

* * *

Ladybug was swinging across rooftops, trying to get to the Vendôme Column in Place Vendôme, a famous square. The column was created to honor Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. At the moment it was the battlefield for an Akuma.

"This Akuma couldn't have come at a worse time. My math grade is going to take a hit with me rushing through that quiz." she muttered to herself. The whole class had been in Ms. Mendeleive's temporary classroom taking a pop quiz, when suddenly all their phones had turned on saying the LadyBlog had a new update.

The teacher had of course demanded Alya tell her why she was doing this only for the teen to furiously protest she hadn't done anything. Everyone looked at their phones as they watched the brief live stream showing the fight with the new akuma, before it cut off.

Ms. Mendelieive had confiscated everyone's phones declaring no one was getting their phone back until the next day and no amount of protest could change her mind. Realizing she needed to get out of the classroom fast, Marinette had rushed through the latter half of the quiz before turning it in. She had pretended to go to the library acting like she had just remembered that it was undergoing construction before heading in the opposite direction. Once in the perfect hiding spot she transformed and headed to the fight.

"I hope that cat shows up to this fight. With this lockdown in place he might not be able help me."

"I would never risk My Lady's life no matter what security measures the city takes!" Chat Noir called out to her. He was on the opposite side of the street, pole vaulting over the rooftops. "Hi Bugaboo, I'm guessing you saw that live stream as well."

"I think anyone who follows the LadyBlog got it. It was so brief I barely saw enough to identify the location chaton." Doing a triple flip she landed on the rooftop next to him. They started running together as fast as they could. "Could you tell who the Akuma really was?"

"Even these cat eyes couldn't track fast enough to tell you who are prey is. Whoever it is, we need to pounce on them and wrangle them into the kennel at the police headquarters fast." He grinned at his own jokes as Ladybug rolled her eyes.

The two arrived at their destination looking at the square below. A small army was fighting against a small contingent of officers. Several injured officers had taken refuge in shops or in their cars nursing their wounds. To their disbelief, they saw Ms. Gardien driving the Akuma back towards the Vendôme Column.

"Do you think I'm afraid of you woman? The people of Paris have always honored me. This very column is proof enough that I should be the supreme leader of Paris!"

"You're no Emperor Mr. Bourgeois, just a politician who is upset because you're about to lose your seat of power, just as Napoleon did!" The duo's eyes widened upon hearing that. The Akuma was the Mayor?! They needed to get down there now!

The Emperor was clutching his sash tightly again. A horse materialized under him. The stallion reared back ready to slam its hooves down on the ground. Suddenly a yo yo flew past as a powerful line wrapped the horse's legs binding them tightly and dragged the beast down to the ground.

Emperor rolled off the beast before he could be pinned. A silver staff struck him in the side. Angrily he stood up and shouted. "Show yourselves cowards!" The superhero dropped into the square getting in their fighting stances.

"Mayor Bourgeois stops this right now! Do you want to wreck the city you take care of?" Ladybug asked him.

"Take care of? My own subjects betray me and have taken the power that rightfully belongs to me. Only I know what is right for Paris!"

"Clearly Paris needs an _empurr_ and have Chloe be its principia. Not going to happen," Chat Noir chided him. He rushed the man and attacked him in melee fashion as Ladybug tried to get ahold of the man from the backside. As they fought no one realized that they were being driven in a certain direction.

Ms. Gardien fired shots at the ground moving the targets to the column. The shooting took the heroes by surprise as they leaprd away from the Akuma. "You need to stop shooting! Someone could get hit!" Ladybug shouted.

"Yeah us!"

Emperor was standing next to the door that led to a staircase in the column. It wasn't opened to the public and only used to make repairs or check on the condition of the Vendôme Column. A pink butterfly outline appeared over his face.

"Emperor, lure Ladybug and Chat Noir into the column. In the tight quarters you'll have the advantage with your powers to take their Miraculous!"

Emperor nodded as ripped open the door and proceed to climb the staircase. Turning around he saw the duo coming. "That's right, come meet your doom." Suddenly he felt a sharp prick in his arm and saw a dart sticking in it. He ripped it out as the teen heroes stumbled into the narrow staircase. They had darts sticking in their shoulders and were starting to feel dizzy.

"What…is goooooooooing on?" Ladybug asked in a slightly slurred voice.

"I don't knoooooooow, but I'm feeling very sleepy." Her partner said. A canister was thrown inside as the door slammed shut. Smoke started spraying all around the room. Sensing the danger, Emperor retreated to the top of the column, slamming the trapdoor shut before jumping from the top, landing on his now freed stallion, and taking off in another direction.

A few minutes later the police were finally able to open the door to the column. They didn't see any sign of the heroes, only a note saying the special agent had taken them away to start their interrogation. A minute later Ms. Gardien appeared asking questions about what was going on. Learning the news, she said she would head back to her hotel to contact the UN president on this development. None of them noticed that the taxi she got in wasn't a regular one and was going in the opposite direction from the hotel.


	5. Interrogation

**Fun fact: In 2004 the French Police uncovered a secret home theater and restaurant in the catacombs and they couldn't figure out how they got the power down there. To this day, there has been no arrest for who built it.**

* * *

Ms. Gardien arrived at the coordinates the president had given her, an old, abandoned shop. The special taxi that had been lent to her, was extra roomy and carried a few key items she would need. Making certain no one could see her, she unlocked the door and headed to back. Feeling around, she found what she was looking for, a hidden trapdoor. Opening it, the musty air and the faint scent of the sewers overwhelmed her nose.

"Well, I'll just have to get used to the smell. President Hollande better have kept his promise. No one can know where I am and what I'm doing," she said to herself. Walking outside, she maneuvered the taxi through the alleyway until it next to a side entrance. One by one she unloaded necessary items, took them down into hidden entrance to the catacombs, a section that the public didn't know about.

This hidden section had been used in times past to hold prisoners of war and in recent years, dangerous criminals, for a few days before transferring them to the prisons, after gaining valuable intelligence. There were two cells, a large area for "exercise", and an infirmary with an alcove set up for interrogations. A few years ago they had carefully altered a section to create room for a command center/ lab area along with living quarters and kitchen section.

Very few people knew about this underground holding area. No one would suspect to look here for the "heroes". Running it by herself would be difficult, but not impossible, thanks to the items the President had stocked there before hand. Along with some of the gadgets she brought; the two teens would never know one person ran everything.

Ms. Gardien, took great care when she carried the sleeping heroes down into the catacombs. They were surprisingly light considering what they could do. Entering the first cell, she gently laid Ladybug on the bunk. The heroine didn't move at all or show signs of waking up as her hands were chained together with the length attached to the floor. Cuffs on her leg would prevent her from getting close enough to the hidden cameras and sensors in the cell. A screen had been set up in front of the toilet for privacy.

Chat Noir received the same treatment only his tail was tied around him to prevent it from being used, in the case it was a weapon. At moment, she let them keep their weapons and jewelry, as a starting point to gain their trust. Leaving them both a small meal, including a cookie and some Camembert cheese, she left the cells to change into her androgynist uniform once more to protect her secret. Then she gathered some supplies to perform a special ritual.

The catacombs had been originally constructed to hold the overwhelming number of dead in seventeen forty four, before turning it into a tourist trap for the rich. Disturbing these closed off passages could have devastating consequences especially if blood was spilled. She humbly knelt as she offered a tray of food and drink to the skeletons. Lighting a candle, she began to pray. "Spirits, I humble myself before you. I apologize for the damage done to your resting place. I hope these offerings will appease you. I vow to not disturb your rest any further and give you my oath that no blood will be spilled here. You will be respected at all times. Amen."

* * *

Ladybug slowly began to wake. Her eyes felt so heavy and her head was pounding. The lights were too bright. Wait lights? The last thing she remembered was being outside chasing after Emperor. Ignoring the pain she sat up taking gasping breaths.

"What happened?" she whispered. A jangling sound startled her. She tried to bring her arms up to protect herself only to look down and see that they were chained up. She pulled hard trying to break them, but nothing happened. She tried to stand and fell off the bunk. Her legs were cuffed together! Now fully frightened she looked at her surroundings. She was in some kind of cell, a bit bigger than a normal one. A screen was in the far right corner. There was a small slit on the wall opposite to her bunk. The cell door was a combination of bullet proof glass, high grade steel, and considering the faint humming, probably electrified. "Where in France am I?"

In the cell next door Chat Noir had awaken. Upon seeing his surroundings, he was acting like a cornered cat. He hopped about wailing loudly pulling at the chains. He fell to the floor twisting around in an attempt to free his tail. "I need to get out of here now! Ladybug needs me. Time to use…"

" _Don't do that you idiot!"_ Plagg's voice echoed in his mind. Chat Noir stopped thrashing. How could he be hearing his Kwamii if he was transformed? Was he still dreaming?

" _No, this isn't a dream Adrien. This wasn't supposed to happen so soon, but we can talk to each other now mind to mind. Oh, now I can beg for more cheese!"_

" _Think about cheese later! What happened? Where am I? Why shouldn't I use Cataclysm?"_

" _Do I have to spell it out? Someone managed to drug you while in costume and locked you up in somewhere unknown! What are the chances we escape before your time is up?"_

" _Not good, okay so we play it cool for now."_

Chat Noir settled down on the floor. He noticed the plate of food. He was very hungry. He was very tempted to eat, but what if it was drugged or poisoned? It took all his will power not to give in, especially after Plagg smelled the cheese.

A familiar sound was music to his cat ears. He crawled back to his bunk and found his baton. His lady was calling. He eagerly answered the call. There was no picture and the screen was full of static, but he could hear the faint sounds of someone breathing on the other end. "My Lady, is that you? Where are you?"

"Chat! Chat Noir can you hear me?" Ladybug yelled into her yoyo. Tikki and she could also talk to each other mentally now. She had suggested trying to contact her partner. Trying to calm down, she silently begged to hear her partner's annoying voice.

"I…can…barely…hear you. Where are…you?"

"I'm in a cell somewhere. I've been chained up and can't get free. My Kwamii said not to use my powers right now."

"Strange…I'm…cell. Do you think Hawkmoth caught us?"

"You're coming in clearly now. No, if Hawkmoth caught us, he would have stolen our Miraculous by now, and probably even disposed of us. No, something happened when we were fighting. Right around the time we went after the Mayor I felt something prick me, did you?"

"Yeah, then I felt tired and the next thing I knew I was in this cell. How can I protect you if I don't know where you are?" He lost his grip of the baton and bounced across the floor stopping just below the slit in the wall. The slit opened and suddenly he could see the top of Ladybug's head. "My Lady!"

"Chaton!" Ladybug shouted in happiness. She might not know where she was or why, but at least she wasn't alone. Crawling as far as she could she lay near the slit and listened to her partner's purring. At least they were together in this strange place.

"We're so glad that you two are awake. Now we can start the interrogation," a raspy male voice said. The duo sat up looking around trying to find the source of the voice. A bright light turned on and looking out of their cell doors, the duo could make out a slightly raised area. There was a special window lit up. They could make out the silhouettes of three people sitting in seats behind the glass, but that was all. Clearly, the people inside could see and hear everything they said.

Ladybug tried to speak first, but Chat Noir beat her to it. "Who are you and why did you lock Paris's two heroes up while there's an Akuma on the run? Without me to tire it out and Ladybug to cleanse it, you can't stop it!" The moment he stopped speaking, he shrieked as the chain holding his tail in place tighten slightly.

"Rudeness will not be tolerated. By orders of the President of France himself, suspects Ladybug and Chat Noir, are being detained for an undetermined amount of time based on charges of possible terrorism and general danger to the public." The figure on the far right leaned closer to the window and they could make out he was a slightly chubby man.

"We're not terrorists, we're heroes," Chat Noir hissed, he grimaced as the chains were tighten a bit more. Hearing her partner in pain, Ladybug begged him to be quiet. She didn't want him to hurt himself.

"I would listen to your friend," another voice said, possibly a female, giggled. "After all, she's the smart one, you're just the clumsy weirdo." Ladybug protested at that saying they were partners. After she spoke, her chains started retracting, dragging her from the wall, only to stop almost as soon as they started.

The third individual inside the raised room stepped forward and told the other two to stop their actions. When this person spoke, both heroes straightened up and listened closely to what the person was saying. Though the voice was disguised, both thought it sounded faintly familiar.

"I understand that you are afraid, as long as you cooperate and show us trust, your time here will be comfortable. Understand, that we have placed you next to each other, with the ability to talk to one another when you both should be separated and held in different wings of the facility." The person also pointed out that they hadn't been undressed, still had their weapons, and food, which wasn't poisoned, had been given to them. These were signs of trust on their part to them.

"Special forces have been dispatched to contain Mr. Bourgeois. Once he's brought here, he'll be helpful in locating the final terrorist in your group, Hawkmoth." The voice further explained that until all their questions had all been answered and depending if they proved trustworthy, would decide if they walked out this facility free or to prison.

Both heroes weighed their options. They had no idea where they were, how many people were in this facility, or if they could even contact someone else. If they fought their way out; the entire French Government would be after them and then they have to be on the run because they could stop being heroes with Hawkmoth out there. They're friends and family would never see them again.

 _"Tikki, what do you think we should do? Stay and cooperate, or fight our way out?"_

 _"Right now the safest option is stay here and cooperate. You must learn as much as you can about these people. Something about this situation isn't as it should be."_

 _"Alright, I trust you. Should I tell Chat Noir about our choice?"_

 _"Believe me, his Kwamii is very lazy and not the most responsible, but he knows when to be patient."_

Indeed Plagg was trying to get his Wielder to calm down. _"Neither of us like to be confined, but are you willing to risk dying to get out? For once in your life please consider your own safety. If you die I'll lose my cheese source!"_

 _"Maybe you need a diet from the cheese. Ugh, I hate being confined, but I'll go along with this until we have a better option._

* * *

Behind the special glass, Peace Keeper tried to get a read on her prisoners. She had to tailor each interrogation to fit the person she was questioning. She was no profiler, but she did have a good grasp on reading body language. The two prisoners agreed to cooperate almost at the same time. When they did that, she picked up on traces of animal behavior from the duo.

Chat Noir ears had turned sideways and straight up and his eyes were staring straight ahead. In a cat that meant they were angry and likely to cause trouble. Ladybug's posture was different. She was trying to make herself look bigger and make sure her spots stood out. A warning she was poisonous or in this case, dangerous.

So they do exhibit animal traits when trapped. Interesting. I need to find out more about them. Both the scientific and magical side of these subjects the secret agent thought. Peace Keeper looked at the two animatronic that had been taken from Disneyland Paris storage and upgrade with high tech robot parts. The extra faces helped the illusion that there was more than one person running the detention cell.

Attaching her laptop to the computer she programmed the animatronics questions to ask as she spoke to the suspects. "Thank you for agreeing to cooperate with us. Right now, we're going to do a group interrogation to establish a connection between the two of us. Try to stick to the truth, we'll know if you're lying."

So the group interrogation began. Neither suspect knew that when she had caught them, she had brush their exposed skin with a biochip on her fake fingernails. The chip had embedded into their skin, while the signal related all kinds of medical data and other useful information to her laptop. The biochip would only stay in for about three days before being expelled, so she needed answers quickly. When combined with her research and some helpful magical items, she would be able to determine if her suspects were a threat or not.

Establishing a base line was easy by asking them questions she already had answers to. The biochips established a link with the two's individual body responses. As they entered harder questioning, she kept one eye on the biochip readings and the other on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"You told us when you started being active, but you have failed to clearly tell us where you got your tech from. Who gave you those suits?"

"I found my mi… mine in my bed…I mean in a vintage costume store," Ladybug stuttered. No, she would not reveal that she found Tikki's earrings in a box on her desk one day. She couldn't reveal the source of her powers came from the earrings. It was her job to protect them.

"I was dumpster diving and happened to find this cool suit. Never thought it would make me the king of the cats." Their chains retracted pulling the partners further away from the wall slit. Chat Noir tensed up as he lost sight of his beloved lady.

"You're lying, these suits are too modern to have been found in a vintage clothing store or have someone dispose of them. They fit you perfectly, as if they were designed specifically for you. Who gave you the suits?" The male animatronic pushed them.

"No one gave them to us, we just found them, honest."

"A partial truth is still a lie little girl," the giggly female sang. "You may have found them, but clearly someone wanted you to have them. Were these suits payment for being recruited to work for a terrorist organization?"

"No one recruited us! As we have stated we found them, as if they appeared by magic. Is it a crime to put clothes on?"

"It is Chat Noir, if you failed to turn over the suit to the authorities after discovering what it could do for you. Stealing prototype government technology is a federal crime."

"They're not government property! They're our costumes and that's it!"

It was quiet for a few minutes before they were asked more questions about their activities. Why did they appear at Akuma attacks? Why was Ladybug the only one that could reverse the drug/tech process? How long had they been working for Hawkmoth?

Peace Keeper read the bio readings of her subjects. After an hour and twenty minutes of questioning, both subjects were severally stressed and agitated. Blood pressure was fluctuating. Their temperature was slightly elevated. Turning her eyes from the data, she picked up picked up a prism and set it in front of an EMP. She aimed it at the two prisoners, using science to study their auras. According to the colors it was time for a break.

"That's enough questioning for now. Fresh food and water will be brought to you. Please use the toilet if you need to. The screen provides you some privacy and no we're not watching you as you go. We'll pick this up after you've had a chance to rest."

* * *

After arranging some food and fresh water, she had a drone take it to her prisoners. Her superiors would want to know why she hadn't kept pushing. She knew how easily a person would fall on their sword if they were pressured too much and suddenly words were put in their mouths making them give a false confession. No, according to what they admitted about their ages, (somewhere between 13-15), they were teens. Their brains were still developing and she refused to scar them mentally.

Heading into the small kitchen she made a meal for herself. She needed some rest as well. Looking over the transcripts of the interview she started highlighting the important parts. "Hmm, personalities match up to observations of the public. They were being slightly deceptive when it came to questions about their suits, but did partially confirm that their physical abilities are enhanced by the suits. That's not outside the norm at all. No information about their special powers or what a Miraculous is. It could be their jewelry yet why are these accessories so important?"

Munching on her sandwich, she reviewed their biological responses. Even without them, Peace Keeper could tell that the duo had a strong deep bond with one another thought there appeared to be a romantic contention underlying their partnership. Looking at the results closer it didn't make sense.

"Their hormones, heart rate, even their brainwaves clearly show they're in love with one another. Their body language doesn't match what they're feeling. Clearly Chat Noir loves Ladybug only Ladybug doesn't like him and doesn't respond to his affection.

Inside her, bio readings indicate she's feels love very strongly and towards the boy. In response to that Chat Noir, is more relaxed and his brainwaves indicate friendship. Is it possible they never told each other their identities? If that's true then their subconscious recognizes the other one, but their conscious mind hasn't made that connection. This lends credibility to the theory of magical glamor designed to protect their identities from people who could harm them."

She opened a book on myths and legends about different creatures. Several cultures has similar ideas about ladybugs. Most countries believed that they brought luck or good weather. Her focus was drawn to the myths that ladybugs could grant a wish as they flew away and help find your soul mate. Did that apply to Ladybug herself?

There were hundreds of legends about cats of all color. How they were worshiped in ancient cultures or consider living gods among humans. There was an Irish myth about the "King of Cats" a black one named Iruscan. France even believed if a white cat was found on your doorstep, within a year you'd be married. Black cats were not always considered bad luck, in fact before the witch hunts and Inquisition, they were considered lucky.

"All this information is leading me to believe that Ladybug and Chat Noir are not terrorist and their tech could be magical items." No! Presidents Hollande and Aboulatta wouldn't believe her if she told them that. Her charm heated up in her pocket comforting her. "I wish you could help out now."

Finishing her meal Peace Keeper looked up at the clock. She hadn't realized she'd been absorbed in her work. Two and half hours had past. It was the perfect time to apply her second interrogation skill set, playing mind games. Moving into position she turned on the PA and started speaking. "Alright, you have had enough time to rest. It's time for a second round of interrogations."

* * *

Inside his cell Chat Noir hissed. Hadn't they answered enough questions? "We've done everything you asked and still you treat us like we've done something wrong! What would prove to you that we're not the enemy?"

"Patience Chat Noir, all good things come to those who wait." The sound of footsteps could be heard as someone approached their cells. Another animatronic dressed like a human appeared in the hall passing by Chat Noir's cell and stopping in front of Ladybug's. "Ladybug, you will come with me for an individual interrogation. Failure to comply will result in punishment."

"Leave her alone! If you want to take anyone, take me instead!"

"Chat Noir, I'm fine. I'll go with the guard. I'll be back I promise," Ladybug called out as she was being dragged away. She stumbled a bit, with her legs cuffed still. Her hands were covered completely so she couldn't reach for her yoyo. Her heart was pounding as she was taken down the long corridor. Something about it made her shiver. Where was she?

Ladybug was led into an interrogation room, locked to the chair and table. Before leaving the guard turned on a camera and a recording device. A few minutes later a figure entered the room. The person was completely covered and there was no way to determine their gender. "Hello Ms. Bug or do you prefer My Lady? Either way it's nice to meet you."

"I would prefer is you used to my name Ladybug. It would be nice to meet you if the circumstances were different," She said politely. Her eyes darted around the room, trying to analyze everything and figure a way out if they weren't released freely.

The interrogator snapped her fingers forcing the teen to look at her. "You can't escape from here. Instead of analyzing a typical interrogation room, you should be focusing on answering these questions." A folder slid across the table at the teen. It opened and inside were pictures of different times she was seen with the mayor or Chloe. The interrogator pulled a copy of a document out making sure it was close enough to her prisoner so she could read it.

"What do you want me to say? I helped save Chloe a couple of times and met with the Mayor on different occasions to give him advice on how to keep the city safe."

"Why did the mayor create bank accounts for you and your partner?" Ladybug eyes widened in surprise. Looking down at the document she realized it was a bank statement made out to her. There were weekly payments of eight hundred and forty euros starting the week after she and Chat Noir stopped Stone Heart. Four weeks in a month times nine months ended up being almost four thousand euros.

"I had no idea this existed. The Mayor didn't tell me about this." She spotted her signature and gasped. "How did he get a hold of my signature? I never gave it to him!"

"A likely story. You were being paid by the Mayor for what reason? Celebrity stunts, to protect his daughter from harm? Are you the muscle behind his bid to take control of the country? Please explain some of these files. I'm sure once the former Mayor is here, he'll tell us all we want to know about the conspiracy between you and your partner."

As Ladybug scrambled for an answer, she had no idea that the camera was playing live footage in Chat Noir's cell, only the audio was being switched out making it appear that Ladybug was turning her back on him. "Ladybug would never agree to enter an alliance with the Mayor on bank fraud."

"Are you certain of that? Tell us, are you romantically involved with Chloe Bourgeois?" the male voice asked.

 _"That's rich, they believe you are having an affair with Chloe!"_

 _"Plagg shut up!"_

"I have never nor will I ever be romantically involved with a civilian. I do my duty to protect her and that's all."

"So her father isn't in league with Hawkmoth, creating all these Akumas, in order to perfect the drug/tech process, using her as a catalyst?"

"Why would the Mayor be involved with Hawkmoth? He does everything in his power to stop him. Besides, Chloe isn't smart enough to do something like that."

"Sounds to us that you know the Bourgeois' well, maybe you're closer to them then you want us to believe. So it was Ladybug's idea to stage all this to cover up the conspiracy to take over Paris?"

"Ladybug wouldn't do anything to harm Paris!" Chat Noir was certain of this. His Lady was perfect in every way. "You're putting words in her mouth."

Back in the interrogation room, Ladybug was defending Chat Noir. "He's a bit of annoyance with his puns, but he isn't passing secret messages between civilians to keep them in line! He would never force people to do something they didn't want."

"Are you going to keep insisting that you weren't attempting to keep the former mayor from being arrested for his crimes? I'll need more proof from you. You should get comfortable, you won't be going back to your cell for at least another hour."

"Why do you keep saying former mayor? Does it have to do with his akumatizing?" If they knew something about the mayor, then may she could use it to her advantage to get Chat Noir and herself out of here.

"Trying to take control of the situation Ms. Ladybug, clever. Please tell me what you think I mean."

" _Tikki, I don't know how to answer this. One wrong word and I might never see my friends and family again. Chat Noir's family and friends would be worried forever if he didn't come home."_

" _Take a deep breath Marinette. This interrogator is asking for your honesty. What you need to do is simply explain what you think is going on. Don't let your nerves get to you."_

Peace Keeper waited for an answer from Ladybug. The teen was thinking very hard. The girl had closed her and her hands, they were trying to do something even though they were covered and strapped to the table. A habit of hers perhaps?

"You keep asking me questions about the Mayor's activities and my relationship towards him. I know politicians generally hide skeletons. Hmm, he was being transported by the police before he changed. Was he charged for something that took away his position? That's the only thing that makes sense because of who he turned into."

"You're correct Ladybug, he was arrested on charges and stripped of his title for now. Perhaps you can tell me where you believe he's going now or what is his end game?"

Neither she nor Chat Noir could answer that question without more information. Being arrested was what made Mayor Bourgeois a target and only he knew what his endgame was. Hawkmoth must be going crazy right now because they weren't around.

Later Ladybug was returned to her cell. Chat Noir tried to talk to her, but she was exhausted from everything that happened that day. Her interrogator, whom she had silently nicknamed Mystery, was the person in charge of this facility. Everyone else answered to her. Ladybug had felt a faint connection with her. Hopefully tomorrow, she could forge a better connection with Mystery to gain her and Chat Noir's freedom.

* * *

That night neither hero slept well. Ladybug had a difficult time finding a comfortable position on her bunk. The chains had been loosened a bit and her feet were free. She rolled about trying to find a position that didn't have the chains rubbing against her body. Tikki tried to help by quieting down the teen's thoughts, but it wasn't helping much.

Chat Noir's problem was he kept waking up from nightmares. Being her reminded him to much of his home life. In his dreams, the mansion got smaller and smaller until it was the size of a doll house. He tried to get out, but his body became porcelain as he changed into a doll. Then his father would pick him up and play with him, forcing him to do all his activities.

It was an awful dream and only Plagg could wake him up. The little cat Kwamii was hungry and had his Wielder nibble on some of the cheese they had left so he could draw on Chat's energy for a time to keep the transformation fueled.

Peace Keeper didn't sleep much that night either. She had to keep an eye on her prisoners making sure they weren't going to escape. There was also the task as keeping her Ms. Gardien cover, checking in with the police asking how the search for Emperor was going. Surprisingly, the former Mayor had gone into hiding, as soon as it became apparent that Ladybug and Chat Noir, weren't going to show up at Napoleon's tomb. He must be somewhere her biochip couldn't track him.

"Tomorrow, I'll test their suits and examine their weapons." President Aboulatta had told her to get samples for forensic testing. Even if she did collect samples it would take at least thirty days to get any results back. It wasn't like on TV where it only took a few hours. In reality, it could take up to several months depending on different factors, including price of the test and how much a lab was backlogged. Then she would have to find a comparison.

No, it would be best to try to get them to admit who they were and just observe their actions. Patting her pocket with the charm hidden in it, she whispered, "Push them to their limits tomorrow and I'll get what I need."

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, both heroes were taken from their cells and lead to the exercise area. The guard undid their chains and leg cuffs and stepped back outside the area pulling a door closed. Chat Noir took this time to use his enhanced senses to see if he could figure out where they were.

"I'm smelling sewer water, candles, and faint human scents. That's weird if you ask me. There should be a lot more smells."

"Stop joking around. What can you hear and see? We need to figure out if we're at least still in Paris."

"I'm doing my best My Lady, but everything is so faint. Even with these strange acoustics, I can't figure it out. I know I can hear civilians and cars, but I'm not sure where they are. Even with my night vision, all I can see are closed off areas. I think we're being held underground."

"Underground? Maybe in a basement or an abandon subway station?"

Before he could reply someone cleared their throat. Turning around, they saw Mystery looking at them through a window on the door. The androgynist person eyes flickered up and down over their suits before staring at the yoyo and baton. The two heroes shivered slightly under her gaze. The person studying them seemed to be more interested in them as people then suspected terrorists.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you are here right now. My superiors are determined to learn the secrets of your technology and the abilities it grants. The quickest way to that would be of course the removal of your clothing" cue the blushing heroes' faces, "only that is impossible. According to unnamed sources your suits and masks don't come off while wearing them. I suspect either your suits are made of tiny nanobots, or in my private opinion, magic."

Hearing a government official admit to the possibility of magic was a little shocking. Adults generally didn't believe in magic. This person's colleagues had been interrogating them over and over about being terrorist or conspirators with advance tech. Why did the one who appeared to be in charge believe differently?

The person shifted their position behind the door uncomfortably. It was clear that Mystery hadn't intended to divulge that piece of information, which most likely had been recorded. The two looked at each other silently asking if this person could be convinced to help them.

"Sorry, lost in thought. Since we can't get the suits off we've decided the best way to get any information is to have you fight in a simulation so we can gathered the data. The room is full of sensors that will pick up on anything you two do. We'd like to see everything you can do especially your "special powers." At the end of the session you will hand over your weapons for analyzes."

"Hold on a second, you let us keep our weapons as a sign of trust. Why do you want them now?" Ladybug asked in slightly scared voice.

"Trust goes both ways Ms. Ladybug. It is your turn to trust us with your weapons and believe that we'll give them back. I would rather not have to use force to take them."

Chat Noir placed a hand on Ladybug's shoulders reassuring her they would be fine. They would kick the tail out of the simulation. The heroine nodded as she got herself in the right state of mind to fight. Chat Noir took his protective stance in front of Ladybug and for the first time she didn't mind him keeping her safe. There was a beeping sound and an obstacle course appeared. Taking a deep breath the two ran as fast they could.

The first set of obstacle were hurdles of different heights. With Ladybug's enhanced strength and agility and Chat Noir's enhanced speed the partners cleared the first set of obstacle with no problems. They then ducked and weaved between swinging bags trying to knock them out. There was a wall ahead of them that didn't go very high, but appeared challenging. If anything this obstacle course was way too easy.

As they started to climb the wall, another beep went off and suddenly the hand and foot holds disappeared as the wall started shaking catching the heroes off guard. Ladybug slipped and started falling down. Chat Noir extended his staff which she grabbed. As he was pulling her up bricks started falling off the top of the wall. "Look out!" she screamed.

Her yoyo started whirling around blocking the bricks turning them into dust. The dust caused Chat Noir to start coughing and he blinked furiously trying to clear his eyes. He felt his partner climb up him, get to the top of the wall, and pulled him up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling feline My Lady. A little dust doesn't keep this king cat down." Of course Ladybug rolled her eyes at his puns. Seeing her relax a little put him in a good mood. There was another beep and the wall started sinking down. A short distance away was another platform. "Time for a leap of faith!"

"Don't be so cliché!"

They jumped from the first platform landing on the next. There was another platform a bit further away from them. Their current platform was disappearing so they had to jump again. This continued for a little bit as the distance between the platforms go further and further apart forcing them to push themselves to their limits. A few times they had to go through hanging hoops using their incredible flexibility to avoid being caught on the hoop or hurting themselves.

The course started to turn back towards the door. A tightrope had been strung only a few inches under the ceiling. Keeping their balance was critical as out of nowhere wind started blowing causing the tightrope to swing around.

"Focus My Lady, cats have an excellent sense of balance, but I don't know about ladybugs."

Ladybug flipped over Chat Noir, her hands gripping the tightrope as she did the splits then cartwheeled to the end. "I guess I have the better balance." Suddenly something small hit her causing a sharp pain. Chat Noir tracked the projectile and saw the last obstacle happened to be a few training police bots firing rubber bullets. Grinning in anticipation, he jumped into the middle of the bots extending his staff as he knocked them over. "This is going to be a great game of cat and mouse!"

Outside the exercise area, Peace Keeper was amazed at the data flowing in. The sensors showed how durable the suits were. Already they had passed several hidden obstacles the duo had no clue about. In between obstacles, she had arranged different magical pouches, a few relics, and even infused anti magic stones in them.

"Clearly the suits are not only incredibly durable and strong, they're also able to resist most magical attacks. Only a few times has anything penetrated or affected them. They didn't react much to it when it failed, so the damage could be too small, for them to feel."

A beep alerted her that the simulation had ended. Checking the feeds, a bit of frustration built up in her. They hadn't used their special powers at all! She couldn't do a proper threat basement if they didn't reveal all they could do. Thankfully, the teens handed over their weapons as the animatronic guard took them back to their cells.

Retrieving the items she took them to the lab. Placing the weapons in a special chamber, she started running a series of tests to figure out what they were made of, how many functions they had, and what their capabilities were. Hopefully she could figure out how old they were and how they worked.

Looking at the baton Peace Keeper felt her suppressed memory surfacing again. A flash of something brown flying through the air played in her mind before she got it under control. "Right now isn't the time to think about the past. I need to plan what my next move is. Interrogating isn't getting me anywhere. What do I do next?"

* * *

While this was going on, the family and friends of Marinette and Adrien were starting to get a little concerned. Neither had come home last night, and with their phones being confiscated, they could be reached or tracked. Sabine had called Alya's home number and spoken to her if she knew where Marinette was.

Alya replied that the last she had seen her friend was during math class. After finishing her quiz, she had left the room in hurry, probably to use the bathroom or make use of the small amount of free time to get things ready for her class rep meeting. She didn't appear in the rest of her classes for the day.

With the semi state of emergency happening, it was difficult to get in touch with the police. Even if they could, the parents were unsure if they had time to look for their daughter as another Akuma was on the prowl. Ladybug and Chat Noir were usually absent leaving the police taking care of the Napoleon obsessed akuma. Where ever Marinette was, her parents hoped she was safe.

It was halfway through the school day and Nino had been called to Mr. Damocles office. Wondering what he could be in trouble for he was shocked when he saw Nathalie and Gorilla in there. The teen gulped, wondering what Adrien's posse wanted with him.

"Please sit down Nino. Ms. Sinclair wants to ask you a few questions and then you can return to class," Mr. Damocles informed the young man.

"Did something happen to Adrien?"

"That is what we're trying to determine. Adrien wasn't at the school when we came to pick him up from fencing practice and according to the security cameras he was last seen heading out of math class towards the old study rooms. Any reason he would go in that direction?"

Nino rubbed his hands nervously, not prepared to tell the _real_ reason his best friend would being heading to the old study rooms. "Whenever we're allowed to leave early from class, Adrien likes to go to the old study rooms to work on any homework he's gotten that day or review his schedule for the rest of the week."

Nathalie wrote this into her tablet, Gabriel always wanted updates on Adrien's school life. "Did you see him at all later that day?"

Nino shook his head. "When he didn't show up I figured he had another photo shoot or maybe he was told to come home early. Does he have a spare phone that you could call?"

"No, he doesn't. Do you have any idea where he might go if he wasn't at school?"

"Dudette, sorry Ms. Sinclair, Adrien's responsible to a fault. He never does anything without prior approval. Well most of the time. He could have walked off campus to get something to eat if he was still hungry from breakfast."

Nathalie stooped him there. She turned to ask Gorilla what he meant by being still hungry and the bodyguard simply handed over a few receipts from nearby cafés for a couple bagels, sometimes a croissant, and one Marinette's bakery for a small bag of macaroons.

Nathalie frowned giving the Gorilla a stern look. According to the receipts, Adrien had given small amounts of money to the man so he would be signing for the food. "You know Adrien is on a strict nutrition diet. Why are you getting him snacks?" The bodyguard shrugged and just pointed at the times of the receipts', almost always right before or after school, an extra energy snack to help keep him going through his schedule during very busy weeks.

"We'll talk about this later." Turning back to Nino she questioned the boy asking if anyone at school would harm Adrien. The music lover responded that everyone loved Adrien and consider him to be a gentlemen and good friend. When he was asked if anyone in the area would want to kidnap him Nino pointed that was ridiculous.

After a few more questions Nino was told to return to his class. This was very disconcerting. Alya had told him earlier that Marinette was missing. She was growing very concerned. Chloe had complained earlier that her Dad was missing and she was stuck staying at Sabrina's house. How many people were missing from where they were supposed to be? Did it have something to do with that brief livestream of the police fighting the Akuma or perhaps the missing people had accidentally ended up in a district that was locked down. Either way, he hoped his buddy Adrien and Marinette would show up soon.


	6. Torture

**The name of this chapter is Torture, but I won't be doing hard core or anything that will damage a person for life. There are some lines I will not cross and this is one of them. Thank you for understanding.**

* * *

Ladybug stomach growled for food. After running that obstacle course and being left alone in her cell with only a bit of water to cool down, she needed to replace her energy. Tikki was also running out of energy to keep the transformation up and eating cookies wasn't helping her much.

There was also one other problem. She really needed to use the bathroom and she couldn't stand it much longer. She's been holding it way to long and she didn't want her bladder to rupture and die. She definitely remembered reading about that in a book of freaky facts, Nino showed to her, Alya, and Adrien.

 _"Tikki I can't hold it any longer. I need to use the toilet! That means detransforming, but if I do that, my identity will be revealed!"_

 _"You have no choice Marinette. If you don't you could die. They did put a screen in corner to give you privacy. Maybe you should also toss your blanket over it to cover you identity better."_

 _"Okay, let's hope that works. I better tell Chat."_ Standing up, Ladybug hobbled over to the slit in the wall. Standing on her tippy toes she was able to see him entirely. "Psst Chat. Chat over here. Chat!"

Chat Noir smiled at seeing his partner. He lopped over to the wall. "Ladybug, are you okay? No injuries from that obstacle course I hope?"

She shook her head and explained why she was talking to him. Chat shivered at the topic before responding. "I thought you said we should stay transformed at all times." She gave him a look and he muttered that yes he needed to use the bathroom as well. "What if they do have cameras watching us? It would be a mistake."

"If we don't we could die. Besides our Kwamii's need to eat. Having them taking energy from us is making all of us weak. Hopefully their keeping their promise of not watching us. Um, do you have any cookies left? I ate all of mine."

"Yeah, you got any cheese left?" The partners exchanged their food and after making a little tent with their blankets, they let go of their transformation praying no one could see them.

In the control center Peace Keeper saw the flashes of light. Checking the biochips it was obvious they had detransformed to use the facilities. "Finally, I thought I have to use a catheter to keep them alive." There were no cameras or audio devices near the toilet. Privacy laws were important to her. While the duo was relieving themselves she started programming the animatronics for the next step. She had been authorized to use torture, even though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (UDHR), a document describing the rights of all people under the General Assembly, declared in Article Five: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, prohibited it.

President Aboulatta was determined to get answers before the next president, Incumbent Francois Delattre of France, took over. She didn't want to be reminded that he had the power to stop this investigation. Checking the biochips the partners had relieved themselves and freshly transformed again. "Time for a little give and take."

"Nice of you two to freshen up. I'm sure you have a big appetite for lunch after running that obstacle course and only being allowed water. We've prepared fresh and nutritious lunch. Before it can be served though, we're going to play a game."

Chat Noir growled as his frustration started to rise again. He had being manipulated like this. It reminded him to much of his normal life. Being Chat Noir, a hero, was his release to freedom. He wasn't a terrorist or a conspirator to topple the government. What else did they think he was?

"What kind of game. I'm pretty good at games and My Lady, never loses at anything."

"It's called give and take," the male voice said. "You give us information that's useful to help us capture the third member of your gang, Hawkmoth, and we give you more freedom. Fail and we'll take something away from you. Sound fair?" The chubby animatronic asked. He jerked a bit in his seat as his gears started to get locked up. Peace Keeper kicked it and it started working properly again.

The female animatronic in her giggly voice said. "It shouldn't be that hard for you two to answer the questions. After all, if you're truly heroes, you should know a lot about your enemy, more than you divulge earlier."

Ladybug clenched her fists. She was trying to keep her cool, but it was rather difficult at the moment. They had already told them everything they knew about Hawkmoth. What was left to say?

"Our sources have revealed to us, that Hawkmoth can literally get into your mind and that he has a knack for finding individuals feeling angry. How does he do that?"

"We're not certain how, but we believe it has something do with his suit or weapon, maybe it's his special gift?"

"Gift, you mean your so called powers? What exactly is his power?"

Chat Noir piped up. "Making akumas duh. What else would it be?" After that flippant answer he heard the slit close cutting him off from his partner. "Why did you do that?! That's the only that could be his powers. If he has more he's never shown them before."

The female silhouette leaned back in her chair before responding in a condescending. "We're aware of his ability to create the akumas, but we asked what you knew about his ability to pinpoint emotional people. How does he do that?"

"We don't know for certain, we've never seen him done it in person, but anytime he talks to his victims, an outline of a mask appears on their face. His suit, whenever he puts it on, his mask gives him the power to feel emotions." The guard slid Ladybug her lunch for answering the question that could lead her captors somewhere.

"What does he look like?" the leader Mystery asked. "He's had to have shown himself at some point if you know his name."

"We don't, he hides behind his akumas. All we know is what his face looks like when Stoneheart spit up the akumas that formed his face. We can't give you any real details. Although his accent was definitely local and he has sophisticate manner of speech," Chat Noir recalled the incident. He remembered the tone of his voice and words, while plain, the way he phrased them indicated he was upper class.

The guard also gave the boy his food along with a comb and spray on deodorant to help get rid of the smell after not taking a shower in a day and a half. He managed to get his cuffed hands around the deodorant and started spraying it over himself as he rolled around. He reached for the comb when the next question was asked. They wanted to know where Hawkmoth's lair was.

"We don't know. The victims can't recall anything after I devilize the akuma returning it to normal. I suppose we could possibly follow the butterfly, but they usually just fly off in a random directions." A grinding sound was heard as she watched in disbelief as her cot folded into the wall and locked down.

"You had a perfectly good chance to follow a lead and didn't. Those butterflies were your best chance and you thought it wouldn't be worth your time?" the chubby one man asked. "Clearly you don't need a soft place to sleep."

The female one demanded to know more about how the drugged butterflies infected a person when they somehow merged with an object. Both of the heroes tried to explain the process in a manner that at least sound scientific, but it wasn't enough and both had their lunches taken away, Ladybug had one light turned off and Chat Noir had one turned super bright. This game of give and take was not going to end well for anyone.

* * *

Chat Noir had no idea how long they had been at this game. Without his staff he couldn't check the time. He didn't realize how much he actually used his schedule to keep track of events and find ways to slip out and be free. His head kept drooping at the questions and privileges were taken away.

Abruptly the questions came to a stop. The cat themed hero was curling up inside himself to take a nap when the sound of flowing water filled his ears. Startled, he shot up only to fall back to the ground. He'd forgotten that his chains had been shorten significantly during the game.

The water appeared to come out of nowhere. One minute, the cell was dry, the next minute stinky sewer water started seeping into the cell. Chat Noir struggled to get free as the water touched his foot. Letting out a yowl he scrambled to get away from the water. "This tomcat has no desire to have a bath! I can groom my coat all on my own!"

In her own cell, Ladybug could hear the water sloshing in her partner's cell. She wasn't worried at first, her partner could swim after all, but as the roaring of the water got louder, she became more anxious. "Chat Noir, can you hear me? Chat Noir. CHAT NOIR!" Her partner wasn't answering her. Looking out her cell, she could barely make out the three people in the control room. Hoping they were still listening to her she started demanding an explanation. "What are you doing to my partner? Are you trying to drown him?! He can't properly swim if he's chained up!"

At first no one answered her and she feared that the audio in her cell had stopped working. Then the voices came through. The chubby male's voice spoke first, "We weren't getting anywhere with a give and take so we decide to change topics and strategy."

"What we're focusing on right now is how high a danger threat you two are. How much control do you have laugh laugh over your abilities?" The giggly female voice stated. "It's not like he'll drown. It's a myth that cat's hate water. Many feline species, like jaguars, fishing cats, even tigers love the water." There was another round of giggles as the water started rising higher in Cat Noir's cell. "The domestic species don't enjoy how their top and under coats get weighed down by the water because it takes forever to dry themselves with their tongues."

Back in Chat Noir's cell, the water was now at least six inches deep. Struggling hard he dug deep inside and pull with all his strength managing to get the length of the chains to come back out. With more chain to work with, he started climbing the walls of his cell.

 _"You left the cheese behind! Couldn't you have saved it along with us?"_

 _"Plagg I'm not in the mood right now for your stupid cheese obsession! We have a slightly more pressuring problem."_

 _"It can't be that bad if you can still make puns. At least you managed to stretch your cuffed legs and hands wide enough to climb. But what are you going to do when we reach the top of the cell? You know cat really can't hang from ceilings right?!"_

" _I'll think of something when we get there. Right now we just need to climb!"_

The water kept rising higher and higher. Soon the cell was half filled with water and to his horror a small whirlpool started forming. His chains were pulling him towards the whirlpool as he dug his claws deep into the wall bracing himself. His wrists were starting to bend painfully as the pressure built up on them.

The strength of the whirlpool had grown even stronger. Without much choice, the teen hero let himself be dragged into the whirlpool. Taking a deep breath he was pulled under the water. The swirling vortex slammed the hero in different directions. He tried to swim to the surface, but his chains kept pulling him down. Without his staff he couldn't pull himself up. The water sliced across his body tearing across his suit. He couldn't tell if there was any damage.

His lungs were screaming for air. His body started to freeze as his body heat was leached out by the cold water. He didn't think he was going to make it. He blacked out and knew no more.

The water drained out of the cell as quickly as possible as two medical robots moved in the cell. "Get him to the infirmary and warmed up as fast as you can! Treat any injuries he might have. Do whatever it takes until he's a hundred percent healthy again. I'll be there to check on him in a few minutes," Peace Keeper ordered. She had been lucky to get a hold of two real medical robots. Sprinting to the door she hurried to check on Chat Noir.

Upon entering the infirmary she walked straight over to the bed Chat Noir lay on. Turning on some high powered heat lamps, since she couldn't get his costume off to get him dry, she grabbed a stethoscope and listened to his heart and lungs. His heartbeat had slowed down due to the cold water. She needed to get it back to a normal rhythm. At least he hadn't breathed in any water and his lungs were clear.

Now the difficult part, warming him up slowly without causing shock to his system. "Stick him with a warm saline slow drip. Make sure he's wrapped in as many thermal blankets you can find. Remember, his chest and abdomen first, then his extremities. After his temperature rises a bit, wrap a warm blanket around his head and neck. You can also start warming up a hot pack. Just make sure it's wrapped tightly in a towel and it's not actually touching his skin," she ordered. The robots nodded and went to work.

She would check on him in a few hours. If he was improving, she would move everything back into his cell. It wasn't her choice at this point. Keeping him in the infirmary would be better choice, but no special treatments under any circumstances were allowed, when she was under orders to use torture.

* * *

Returning to the control center she saw the preprogrammed torture method for Ladybug was in effect. Her cell was now completely soundproof and she was left alone in pitch black darkness. The idea was to see how well she handled herself in a situation when her senses were thrown off. Turning on the IR camera features, Peace Keeper watched Ladybug wondering what the teen would do in this situation.

Ladybug sat on the floor longing for her cot to reappear so she could sit down properly. She was worried for her partner. Not being able to see or communicate with him at all was slowly eating away at her. Right before the lights went out she felt a sensation in the air as the background noise completely cut off. Never before in her life had she'd been in a situation like this and it was slowly getting to her.

 _"Tikki, I'm scared, truly scared. What did they do with Chat Noir? Is he okay or did he drown? They won't answer my questions. What if he's dead?"_

 _"Marinette you mustn't let your mind go there! I can still sense Plagg, he's fighting, that proves Cat Noir is still alive. I think that's he's in an infirmary being treated."_

 _"Treated? He could have drowned in that water! We've told them everything and they chose to nearly kill him! It was a mistake to play by their rules. I nearly cost my partner his life."_ In the darkness she started crying as she did her best to hug herself. She pinched herself hard, the pain reminding her of what her choice has cost her.

 _"If I revel myself, maybe they'll let Chat Noir go. At least then he wouldn't have to suffer anymore."_

 _"Marinette, all Ladybugs have felt doubt in their hearts. They each faced difficulties that seemed too much to overcome. Not all of them cared for their partner's life as you do. The fact that you want to show your identity for his safety proves you're worthy of being Ladybug."_

"A real Ladybug wouldn't be taking action, not sitting here feeling useless. To think, a few days ago, all I cared about was finishing my design for the contest, and now I'm scared of losing my partner again," she spoke out loud, not noticing she had done so.

Peace Keeper heard that and raised a single eyebrow in surprise. "Design contest? She's a designer in real life?" That was the first clue to the heroine's true identity. Had she meant to say that out loud? "No, she's in deep in thought, having a mental conversation with herself. That must have been a slip." Looking at video feed again she saw Ladybug feeling around her cell searching for something.

Indeed, the girl was. She was looking to find a crack in the cell, some weak point she could use to get out of here. Her heart was pounding as fear started to creep inside her mind. _"Tikki, tell me about the other Ladybugs. Did one of them experience something like this before? Being trapped and held hostage?"_

 _"Yes, Yindi, it means sun in the Australian Aboriginal language, went through similar situations during her time as Ladybug. She was one of my most enduring wielders. She lived during the conflict between the European penal colonies and Aboriginal culture clash._

 _She was part of a group of Aboriginals that resisted the European's attempts to take over their land. She had watched many of her people die from diseases like small pox or being stolen and forced to convert by the church. She took my earrings after defending herself from a man who wished to do her harm._

 _As Ladybug, she fought hard to prevent the spread of the Europeans. She stopped the churches from getting near her land and even helped take back conquered areas from settlers. She would capture the convicts and return them to the towns to await punishment. Many clans revered her as a being from the Dreamtime, who had returned to protect the clans from being targeted for genocide."_

 _"She sounds brave and determined. Her people meant a lot to her."_

 _"Especially her partner, Chat Noir, known as Night Cat then. He was from an allied clan. He believed that they should attempt to fight for peace between the groups despite the overall conflict. In fact, he was taken hostage during an attempt to broker peace. Word spread that he was being kept in a well as the colonists hoped to lead Yindi/Ladybug to her death."_

The current Ladybug stopped crawling around the room. She stood up and leaned against a wall. She paused as Tikki continued the story. The darkness was replaced by her imagination creating a picture in her mind of the events that had unfolded back in the year of eighteen hundred and one.

 _Ladybug raced across ground, jumping and swinging through the beautiful landscape. Her costume included a spotted apron skirt and loose top. Red armbands covered her arms as spotted sandals protected her feet. She wore a ladybug styled head dress protecting her identity. Already she was swinging around her yoyo preparing for battle._

" _The colonists have gone too far this time! They have no respect for our ways and believe they are rescuing us from savagery. It is them who will need rescuing once Night Cat and I are together again." She landed near the settlement, listening to the night sounds of the birds and lizards. Her eyes darted about making sure that the path was clear of any poisonous creatures._

 _There! Three men stood next to a well, laughing and smoking. The sounds of someone yelling told her exactly where her partner was. "I don't know if I can spare them this time, but I will do my best to save Night Cat." She jumped down and circled around looking for an opening._

 _She darted in swinging her yoyo as hard as she could taking out one man. His buddies tried to shoot her as she darted around, her yoyo bouncing around. Leaping up she managed to tackle one crook to the ground and knock him out._

 _She hurried to the well calling her partner's name. The yowling got louder. A shot rang out and she fell into the well. A cover was placed over it leaving her in the darkness. Feeling around, to her despair her partner wasn't here. Her hand touched a furry bleeding mess. No doubt the men had attacked an animal and threw it down here to trap her._

" _I can't climb out, the walls are too slick. Even if I get up there, no doubt they've weighted down the cover keeping me from escaping. They expect me to wait for my death in here," Yindi/Ladybug whispered to herself. They had probably done the same to Night Cat. Staring at her yoyo, she knew it wouldn't help. Without light, any Lucky Charm she summoned would be useless._

" _I will not give up the fight. My ancestors survived this dangerous land and so will I!" With determination started meditating in darkness. Hours passed and still she didn't move. When all hope seemed lost she drove her yoyo straight into the wall breaking it apart as the underground stream poured in. She rode the water up to the top, using her yoyo to free herself._

Tikki stopped talking for a few minutes reminiscing in memory. Yindi hadn't let the darkness get to her. Instead, she used it to her advantage, letting the entire world fade away until she discovered the weak spot in the well to free herself. By saving her strength, when the time came to use her yoyo, she managed to break out. Later that day she found Night Cat, he nearly drowned in a river and barely escaped the jaws of a croc, but he was alive. He and Yindi had gone on to continue their fight to protect their people until passing away of one of the disease the Europeans had brought.

" _Yindi, was not only a person who endured, she wouldn't allow anything stop her from rescuing her partner. Not even, the darkness and fear of dying in that well, could break her spirit. That's why you need to stay strong Marinette. This darkness is temporary and soon you will find the light to continue."_

" _Thanks Tikki, I needed that."_ In the control room Peace Keeper had watched the bio readouts amazed at how Ladybug went from nearly having a severe panic attack to calming down enough to regain control of herself. Clearly some unknown catalyst had played a part in this.

* * *

A few hours later, Cat Noir regained consciousness. He blinked his eyes rapidly as a bright light shined down on him. "Ugh, too bright." The light dimmed and the hero tried to shoot straight up only to wince in pain. He felt something soft wrapped around him. It was a thermal blanket.

Wondering why he had one he leaned back down and his head touched a super soft pillow. He felt something behind it. Reaching up with his right arm he was surprised to see it was free and there seemed to be a small tiny slit in the suit. Reaching underneath the pillow he pulled out a hot pack. What was going on?

There was a coughing sound. Gently pushing himself up he saw Mystery watching him, still dressed in that androgynist outfit. She was seated in a chair as two medical robots came over to check on him. He started to back away when she spoke up.

" _ **Let them finish their work up. You suffered a case of minor hypothermia due to the shock of the cold water.**_ _**We've been treating you for that for the past few hours. We removed the warm saline drip about an hour ago. I admit it took a little work to get the drip in with your veins covered, but we managed it.**_

 _ **Your core temperature is almost back to normal, so you need to stay in those thermal blankets for another hour. There was no damage to your heart or lungs. Once you're stable, you'll be returned to your cell. You can keep the thermal blankets."**_ The person paused for a second before speaking again. _**"Ladybug would be happy to see you. We turned the lights back on in her cell a short time ago. I know she'll be happy to see you."**_

" _ **Why did you put her in the dark in the first place? She can't see in the dark, only I can! If she's hurt I'll."**_

"She's not hurt and she managed to keep herself from having a panic attack. By the way, do you know any other languages then French and Chinese?"

He gave this cloaked figure a strange look then his eyes widened. He had been speaking in Chinese! Did Mystery know who he really was? "I'm learning a bit of English as well," he admitted.

Mystery tilted his/her head. Picking some books off a table, Mystery set up a tray in front of Chat Noir and laid the text books on it. "I figured that since you are teenagers, you might want to keep up with your studies. I'm not certain what curriculum you're studying so I gathered a few different subjects. Why don't you work on them? I have to go give Ladybug's hers. I'll be back in hour and thirty minutes to accompany you back to your cell."

The superhero stared at the work before him. There was nothing compelling him to do the work. After all, he should be using this opportunity to figure out how to escape or find some tools. The robotic doctors had finished checking him over and had gone over to the other side of the room to do some work.

" _Plagg, are you okay?"_

" _I'm okay I'm glad that the water didn't get to me! I was worried for a second that you might have die… I mean, you would be unable to feed me cheese!" A feeling of warmth and excitement was sensed through the bond._

" _We should start looking for a way out of this place. Maybe I can reach some instruments…"_

Chat Noir stopped talking mentally. Plagg wondered why the boy had stopped talking. Reaching through their bond, he couldn't believe what he was sensing. His wielder was working on the homework that had been left for him!

"Alright, I'll start with physics and then make my way towards history. Okay these problems look easy to answer." Soon the care free cat transformed into a serious student, who was mumbling to himself.

"Can't fall behind, have to be great. I wonder if Father's worried about me. If I don't get home soon he'll take me out of school. I can't stand let him do that.

Why am I focusing on that when Paris must be disappointed by the fact there's an Akuma running around without Ladybug to cleanse it? She's the one who needs to get free not me."

The time flew by without Chat Noir noticing it. Several times his Kwamii tried to talk to him, to remind him of what he had said earlier, but his words wouldn't reach Adrien. He had seen this too often before. The boy would go into a hyper focused state, to complete all his homework or to make sure he did beyond his best with all is activities.

Chat Noir was surprised when his history essay was snatched from the tray. He growled only to make non eye contact with Mystery, (because he couldn't see her eyes lol), who appeared to be surprised that he had done the work. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I be back to escort you to your cell. The medical robots have declared you stable and your cell has been cleaned thoroughly. It's time for you to go back." Mystery held up a hand to stop the robots from placing his restraints on the boy. The person seemed to read through all the assignments in a short amount of time. Barking orders the robot doctors backed up as Mystery pulled up a chair on Chat Noir's right side holding a few papers in her hands.

"Do you know what the worst form of torture is Chat Noir?"

"Being held against your will being accused of things you didn't do? Maybe it's nearly drowning as people attempt to figure out if you're a danger to the public."

Mystery swatted him on the ears before handing him the papers. They were pages copied out of the DSM. The pages described two disorders that normally didn't go together. Perfectionism and Atelophobia-the fear of not being good enough. "The answer to my earlier question is the worst form of torture is the one we put ourselves through to accomplish the impossible."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a funny guy, but this is really not a good joke. You should work on your material," Chat Noir laughed.

"Lying to yourself is only going to torture you more. I left the assignments behind because teens are always going on how homework is a form of torture, so we wanted to study that. Instead we discover you're a paradox." Mystery tapped the pages encouraging him to read.

Perfectionism was defined by two types: MPS and APS-R. According to the material highlighted, it suggested that he suffered from MPS meeting most of the standards. Great concern over making mistakes, high personal standards, the perception of high parental expectations, the perception of high parental criticism, and lastly the doubting of the quality of one's actions.

Striving for perfectionism could lead to a host of mental disorders such as, depression, social anxiety, even suicide in some cases. While perfectionism was help in some ways, such as striving to achieve goals. His desire for the best grades, being the best model for his father's line, and his obsession with his super hero duties were good, but at the same time bad if he failed to meet them.

That led to the unusual pairing of Atelophobia. Perfectionist did have some fear of failure, but not to the degree Chat Noir exhibited. Looking past his mask, there were serious self-esteem issues that flip flopped too often. Feeling detached from one self, and the fear of failing at something important.

His emotional state, such as leaving a situation if it got to emotional only to explode later, was a part of the problem. Constantly, he was worried about finishing all his activities, and he felt overwhelmed at times, while protecting Ladybug, because he feared losing her too much.

Physical symptoms included constant restlessness, insomnia, even dizziness and intense perspiration at times. It had been years since anyone had actually been able to tell he had those symptoms because he was so good at hiding them. Even Plagg didn't know.

"I think you need some help Chat Noir, but it's your choice. After you're released from here I think about getting some therapeutic health. Continuing to torture yourself will get you nowhere." After that he was transferred back to his cell, with a lot of thermal blankets, and was left to wonder if what he was reading truly applied to him.

* * *

Ladybug couldn't express her joy when the sound came back and the lights turned on. When she saw Chat Noir return, her heart pitter-pattered. "Chat! Chat can you hear me! Chat!" She struggled over to the wall trying to get to the slit to open it. She needed to see her partner.

At the same time Chat Noir, still wrapped up in a thermal blanket, hobbled over to the wall. His tail and feet had been restrained, but his cuffs were a bit looser so he could keep a grip on his blankets. "Ladybug, I hear you. Its faint, My Lady. I'm okay, I'm feeling much better and dryer!"

Now they were both by the slit, hoping to somehow open it. Their hands barely touched it when the surroundings spontaneously changed. The walls turned white. The lights in the hallway went dark

. "We hope that you enjoy the next few hours in isolation. It won't be any different than before except now you can't hear each other's voices," the male voice echoed in the cells.

"When you wake up tomorrow, you'll not only have your weapons back, we hope to have your associate Hawkmoth and his Akuma locked up with you. Until then bye," the female voice giggled before cutting off. A second later, the soundproofing was back on leaving the two of them cut off again.

Isolation was the most detrimental torture for growing minds. Psychological and physical problems could develop. With no interaction with people for the next few hours would push them further to their breaking point. Peace Keeper had gone through periods of isolation during her training to mentally prepare her should she be captured. It was also the most horrible experience of her life. Why it was on the list of approved torture for this mission made no sense. Did her superiors truly believe that isolation would force the heroes to confess to something they didn't do? Prove how unstable and dangerous they were?

Turning her back to the cells she walked over to the lab where the yoyo and staff had just finished being analyzed. The results were incredible. String that kept growing no matter what. The yoyo itself could function in ways she hadn't thought possible. The staff was incredible. The metal was unknown, but the way it could split apart and grow simply astonished her.

"I'll be sure to give it back tomorrow. Right now, I should be monitoring how they're holding up." Turning her attention back to the rooms, she watched the teens hoping that they would be okay.

Ladybug was curled up in a fetal position trying to not freak out. I never realized how much I needed human contact. I like working on my projects alone and having space, but right now I give my left lung if I could touch another human she thought to herself. Is anyone looking for me or have they forgotten I exist? How can I continue on like this?'

Chat Noir was doing much better than Ladybug, he was use to being isolated and not having much human interaction at home. Of course going to school had changed that, but it was amazing how easy it was to fall back on accepting his predicament.

"I can handle this. I know that I'm not alone anymore. I sense Ladybug in the next cell and I have Plagg, I'm not alone," he whispered to himself.

" _Glad to know you think so highly of me," Plagg laughed. His voice then took a more serious tone. "Hate to break it to you Adrien, but your partner is not doing so well. Cats are used to being on their own, but ladybugs like to gather in loveliness a lot of the time. Isolation is going to really hurt her."_

" _What can I do? I'm stuck here in this cell. Can you link me with Ladybug's Kwamii?"_

" _No can do. I can swallow a dozen cheese rings, but only one Kwamii can telepathically link all of us together. You shouldn't worry your head about it blondy. There's something else you can do."_

" _What? Considering our cells are soundproof, I can't say anything to her and it's not like she can see me."_

" _You're Chat Noir, the hero of Destruction and Bad Luck. Mess around a bit, Trying to find a way out. Somehow you'll find a way to talk to her."_

* * *

Looking through the cameras into the cells, Peace Keeper watched as the boy attempted to find a way to connect with his partner. He was scratching walls and darting about the best he could. She witnessed him calling through the drain hoping to be heard. He had abandoned his blankets and looked ready to charge his cell door. He threw a blanket at the door watching as it sizzled, indicating the electricity was still on.

Chat Noir rushed the door letting out a cry of pain as the electricity zapped him. It was a big jolt, his suit appeared to be nonconductive, but he still took a tiny bit of a shock. Growling, he raised his right hand as if was about to summon his special power, only to stop and return to normal. Pouting he returned to his bed exhausted.

No wonder he was tired, being imprisoned had thrown off their sense of time. It was nearly eleven forty five. They had been in isolation for almost three hours now without realizing it. As soon as Chat Noir and Ladybug fell asleep, she turned off the isolation and pressed a button. This made the slit and some of the wall underneath part to reveal a special privacy glass. It could be frosted over for privacy or a light could run through it making what was on the other side visible.

Falling asleep was not an easy task. Her mind was a war with itself. On the one hand she had done what she was trained to do. Follow orders and ensure the peace and safety of the world. The knowledge she had gathered would be invaluable to both governments and would help decided the fate of the two captives, and Hawkmoth if they could catch him.

On the other hand, her sense of morality and what she truly believed in kept telling her that what she was doing was wrong. Even if she hadn't discovered their identities yet and didn't have a scientific answer to give her superiors, there was no just cause for keeping them here.

Kicking off her sheets, Peace Keeper pulled the charm out of her pocket, cupping it tightly. "This is supposed to be an easy mission! Compared to my last one, cleaning up the trouble in refugee camps in South Sudan was a walk to this mission. I was entirely focused on that mission, but here I feel as my focus has been lost."

Placing the charm over her heart, she felt it warm up and it glowed softly. Once again she smelled tea and damp turtle. A little bit of her memory came floating to the surface.

 _"I have to follow the rules. My orders are given to me by my sup sup superiors. Their grown-ups and they want me to be the best re reso resource I can be. "_

 _"I never said you shouldn't follow rules given to you by your caretakers. I simply said that when you start keeping the world safe, you can follow orders, but do it in a way that doesn't hurt your loving heart," a wise old voice said._

Peace Keeper forced the memory down again. Her private memories were interfering with her ability to concentrate on the task at hand. There was still an Akuma out there, among the semi state of emergency that needed to be taken care. There was also the importance of capturing Hawkmoth before he caused any more trouble. Putting her charm away she fell asleep.

Early the next morning, as she was getting ready for the day she received an urgent call from Captain Tremaine. "This is Ms. Gardien, what's the matter Captain. Haven't you caught the Akuma yet?"

"No, we've been chasing him for two days. He causes a lot of trouble and bellows for Ladybug and Chat Noir to appear, but they don't because they're being held at President Holland's secret location."

"Yes, I heard word it was taking a bit longer for them to get the information. Why hasn't Mr. Bourgeois been captured yet? The tracker I put in him should be broadcasting a signal."

"We've followed the tracker, but then it disappears for some time. When it pops back up he's a long way from where we are. People are beginning to panic due to the lack of communication. It doesn't help that the past two nights he's been completely untraceable. We could use some help here."

"Understood. I'll meet you at headquarters as soon as I can. Stay strong Captain and don't get discouraged. I swear by this afternoon, that Akuma and Hawkmoth will be in cells awaiting interrogation!"

Touching up her disguise, Ms. Gardien prepared to leave, when she thought out her prisoners. They were still asleep and would need food. After fixing them a quick meal and a few odds and ends to entertain themselves, she left the Catacombs to help with the search for Bourgeois/Napoleon.


	7. Akuma Studies

**A few secrets are revealed in this chapter. Hope you like them. Also, the uniforms of French officers were highly decorated to look very pleasing to their leaders, who were more concerned with fashion then keeping the soldiers safe.**

* * *

Ms. Gardien drove to the police station in her borrowed taxi. Pressing a few buttons on the dash, she turned on the bio tracker radar. It brought up a map of the entire city. She highlighted the Vendôme column and the Invalides Museum where Napoleon's tomb was located. "Computer, highlight the places where the suspect's biochip pinged yesterday."

The computer pinged showing that yesterday the signal reappeared from west of the city a little after dawn. From there Bourgeois/Emperor had terrorized Boulevard des maréchaux, the streets that circled the city, each named after Napoleon's marshals. During the afternoon and early night he was causing more problems at Concord square nearly taking down the Madeleine, originally constructed to be a temple of Napoleon's military victories, it had been changed into a church after the man's death. He then left the city heading west once more.

There's a pattern here. Everyplace he's been seen have significant importance to Emperor Napoleon she thought. "Computer, bring up any video feed of the Akuma and cross reference with police reports about each event, especially any special powers displayed."

Driving as fast as she could, she kept an eye on the radar and the other on the road. Flipping a switch, she tuned into any police radio channels. Turning a corner, she listen as over the channel an alert came. "All police units, Emperor has been spotted heading through the city coming from the west. He's halfway through arrondissement fifteen heading NNE."

"Hmm, that direction would lead him to the first arrondissement. I know there's a monument there of great importance to Napoleon. Of course! The Arc of the carrousel! The little brother to the Arc of the Triumph. That Arc was the entry way to the Tuileries palace and the quadriga track that was use to display the grand architecture he loved."

The computer beeped indicating it had finished. She watched some of the video and the reports were accurate. "I understand, his powers to summon and recreate Napoleon forces, is strongest near monuments dedicated to him. He's trying to not only take over the city, but cause enough damage to draw out Ladybug and Chat Noir for Hawkmoth."

Looking at the radar map, she knew why his signal would disappear at times. If he was coming from the west, he must have spent the last two nights at the Malmaison Palace, the home of Empress Josephine shared with her husband. It was 9.3 miles outside of Paris, the biochip had only been programmed to stay within the city limits. At least now she had lock on her target.

"Connect with Captain Tremaine." A few seconds later she was connected to his private line. "Captain Tremaine, I'm tracking the suspect right now. He's heading to The Arc of the carrousel. He can't reach it! He draws power from places that are significant to Napoleon. Can you and your officers lead him in a different direction? If you can herd him back towards the fourteenth arrondissement, there's nothing there he can draw power from and he'll be easier to capture."

"Understand, I'll set up blockades to block his way. The fourteenth arrondissement is already on lock down. Keep a lock on him and hinder his progress until everything is set." Hanging up, Ms. Gardien decided to take a short cut praying the alleyways were clear. Hitting the gas she sped towards the Akuma's location.

* * *

At the moment Emperor had halted his horse. Raising his hand, his army came to a halt. A pink butterfly mask appeared over his eyes. "Patron Hawkmoth, how may I serve you?"

 _"You can serve me by getting those Miraculous for me! Clearly, you need to increase your presence. Show all of Paris who the greatest leader is. Once you've done that Ladybug and Cat Noir cat ignore you! Now get me those Miraculous!"_

"Understood Patron. Soldiers! We march towards our victory! We shall lay siege to The Arc of the carrousel! Once we reclaim it, we shall build an even greater palace, to showcase my magnificent leadership!" The army cheered and cannons boomed as victory was proclaimed. Rearing up on his horse he was ready to continue his march.

He was not prepared for a taxi come barreling out of any alleyway startling the horse causing it to buck and panic. The vehicle hit the sidewalk rushing to the end of the army. Knowing they were not real, she fired a round of blanks to get the men's attention and zoomed back towards the head of the army on the opposite sidewalk. Opening her windows she scattered pieces of sticky balls that caught groups of soldier leaving them immobile.

Emperor shouted at her, charging the car with his sword on horseback. Spinning the steering wheel, Ms. Gardien cut past him. Leaning out the window she shot blanks again aiming to immobilize her target. He dodged and they played chicken a few more times. Sticking her head out the window she shouted at him. "What's the matter Emperor? Are you giving up to a woman? I guess we know now why you failed so badly at Waterloo!"

As expected, the Emperor exploded nearly destroying the car. Racing away she was pleased to see the army following her to the fourteenth arrondissement instead of the Arc of the carrousel. "I just hope Captain Tremaine is ready for me."

* * *

Indeed Captain Tremaine was ready for Ms. Gardien to appear. Blockades had been set up at the end of each street. Animal control had been called in to take care of the horse or any others that would appear. Even the CRS had been called in to aid in catching Emperor and securing him for transport to the secret facility the heroes currently were being held, (not that they knew where it was).

"Everyone prepare yourselves! The target is making its way here right now! On my command we attack and secure this Akuma!" Captain Tremaine bellowed as everyone got ready. They could hear the sound of engine gunning it on full power followed by the clippty-clop of a horse's hoofs followed by the echoing marching steps of foot soldiers.

The modified taxi tore through the only entrance into the arrondissement and took a tight turn to the right dragging it across the roadway and coming to stop only a foot from where Captain Tremaine was standing. The window rolled down and something was thrown out the window towards the Captain, who barely caught the blue agate amulet. "What in the world?"

"Just put it on. I figure if it can guard against the evil eye, then maybe however Hawkmoth controls the Akuma's sensory input, he'll be blind to it," Ms. Gardien shouted as she got out of the car wearing a cat's eye amulet around her neck.

"Are you telling me you seriously believe in that superstition?" the captain asked in incredulity. Ms. Gardien turned her head and gave him a look that made him feel small.

"All stories and superstitions have some grain of truth to them. Whatever tech/drug he's using has to be adverse to something. Since guns aren't working, why not try a natural and less violent way to capture him?" At that moment the Emperor and his army entered the area, not looking the least bit afraid of being outnumbered two to one.

"Into battle we go my army! Remember, the battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies. For glory attack!" Emperor shouted as he quoted Napoleon perfectly. He rode into battle jumping the first blockade and ordering his horse to kick with his back legs, injuring several officers.

The CRS started moving as they engaged the summoned army using their riot shields to protect themselves from the swords and primitive guns, which still packed a punch. It was cannonballs verse tear gas launchers. As more horses appeared animal control moved in with catch poles to wrangle them in.

Engaging in the conflict, Ms. Gardien took cover near a gallery. Looking around for something to use against the troops she spotted a stacked pyramid of paint cans, probably a delivery for a local artist. She could make use of that. Breaking cover, she ran towards the paint cans sliding right next to them.

"Time to add a little color to this battle. Opening the cans she was pleased to see neon purple, orange, and green among the colors. Now if I can just find, ah here we go."

Captain Tremaine was in the middle of a shootout with trio of soldiers firing their muskets at him. He managed to clip one of the soldiers, who started flinched. Calling for backup, four soldiers carrying swords started advancing and surrounding the captain. His backup was cut off leaving him alone. Reloading his gun, he prepared to fight to death.

As the troops advanced something struck them hard in the shoulders, back, and their chests. Their beautiful and expensive uniforms were covered in neon paint. Dropping their weapons the furiously tried to clean themselves. So preoccupied they didn't even notice as they were ran through with their own weapons turning to dust.

"Well, I'm glad that plan worked and we've learned how to get rid of them," the secret agent stated as she helped the man up. "The uniforms were so expensive because of the excess on the details, that it if the soldiers didn't wear a very clean uniform, they would be greatly punished."

"They're immune to our weapons, but not their own. If we can distract them or damage the uniforms we can take out the soldiers." Captain Tremaine declared. He used his radio to contact the rest of the police squads. He ordered them to start using unconventional techniques to take down the soldiers. He also told animal control to lead the animals towards the Gare Montparnasse terminus. They could corner the animals in the train tunnels to bring them under control.

"Shall we take back your streets?" The man nodded as he took a paint can and started tossing its contents on the enemy.

* * *

The enemy didn't have a clue what was happening at the time. They had gained a lot of ground pushing the police back. The cannons were prepared to fire when the CRS shot out the glass of the Fondation Cartier, contemporary art museum. The glass flew in every direction damaging their uniforms. Just like before the enemy dropped what they were doing and started attending to their uniforms. It was all too easy to turn them into dust.

Emperor saw what was happening as he stomped another barricade down. "FOOLS! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE THINKING ABOUT APPEARANCES!" His rage was getting stronger as he watched his great army being reduced to a mere two troops. He turned the horse around and started to grip his sash, preparing to summon more soldiers when his horse disappeared right from underneath him, leaving him lying on the ground in a salt circle.

"Salt? How does a mere spice bring down the greatest ruler Paris, no France has ever seen?" Something shattered on the ground before the Akuma causing him to cough and his senses to go haywire. As he scrambled on all fours someone knocked him over and used his large banner to create a straight jacket around him before a painful prick sent him to lala land.

Hawkmoth growled and slammed his cane down. He couldn't see through his Akuma's eyes anymore. He still felt the connection to Emperor, but was unable to do anything at the moment. "Who did this?! It couldn't have been Ladybug or Cat Noir, I would have seen them coming? Nooroo, you better give me an answer!"

 _"A person wearing a protective amulet to guard against evil, have been known to escape the notice of dangerous creatures. Apparently it works on Akumas too."_

Hawkmoth let out scream of frustration. Whoever had interfered with his plans was going to pay dearly for this.

Back in the fourteenth arrondissement, the unconscious Akuma had been loaded into the trunk of Nicole Gardien's tricked out taxi. Captain Tremaine was hesitant to let the woman drive off by herself, but she promised she was going to only go a short distance before meeting with the team that would take Mayor Bourgeois/Emperor to the special facility. "I still don't think this is a very good idea."

"President Hollande asked me personally to deliver the prisoner to the special team and I intend to do so. Besides, you and your forces need to clean up this mess and finish with the semi state of emergency drill. I'll be fine, I promise."

The captain nodded as he watched her drive away back the way she came. If he knew where she was going he would have asked why she didn't head to the entrance of the Catacomb Museum a few blocks away. Turning his attention back to his men he ordered them to start the cleanup process.

* * *

Ladybug had just finished making the bust of her jumpsuit after waking up to find the odds and ends in her cell. Needing something to keep her busy and calm her down, she just worked on it not caring if anyone was watching. In the cell next door, Cat Noir had used his time to make a small manga style comic for him to read. Admittedly, he felt better.

"Do you think My Lady, that their testing our creativity now?"

"I don't know Chaton, I'm surprised no one's talk to us and that we can see each other fully."

Their conversation was put on a hold as they saw the guards rushing past and the sound of someone grunting. Getting close as they dare to the cell doors, both heroes jaws dropped at the impossible sight before them. The guards and Mystery were coming down the steps carrying straight jacketed and unconscious akumatized mayor! Mystery was barking out orders.

"Take him to the infirmary and make sure the restraints are on tight. I want a simple antigen-antibody reaction test. We need to determine how the transformation affects a person. Do the basic tests to determine his health level. I'll be there in a few minutes to help with the testing!"

Looking at the shocked expression on the two teens faces Mystery elaborated on what was happening. "We managed to finally catch him, I assure that everyone is fine, some of them needed minor medical treatment. We'll be doing some testing to understand the akuma transformation abilities. Do some testing in the lab on a tiny piece of the sash, things like that to figure out if there's a scientific way to return the mayor to normal. He'll be in a special cell by the end of the day. Let me make sure he's secured and I'll bring you your weapons."

Chat Noir whistled loudly before looking at Ladybug, "How in the world did that happen? The police have never been able to contain an Akuma before!"

"I don't know how, but Mystery managed to do it. No doubt the people here will be trying to determine a way to connect with Hawkmoth and bring him into custody." She paused and tilted her head away. Her eyes seemed to be looking through the ceiling. "Do you think its possible Chat Noir, that they can find a way to cleanse an Akuma through science?" she whispered.

"Why would you even think that? Sure, they got lucky in capturing Emperor, but there's no way science can beat magic. You don't want to give up being a hero do you?" he asked thunderously. He could never give up being Chat Noir, the freedom, the joy, feeling useful, he refused to give that up.

"I don't know Chat. It would be nice to be able to get to school on time or not have to lie about where I am to my family and friends." Blinking back tears she added, "And not have to remember the bodies of the dead you can't bring back to life." Hearing those words Chat Noir cast his head down understanding why his lady would feel this way.

* * *

In the infirmary, Peace Keeper stood over the Emperor studying him. The medical robots had hooked him up to machines to keep track of his vitals and had drugs on hand to put him back to sleep should he wake to soon. Just in case she wanted the guard animatronics to stay here in case trouble happened.

Twisting back, she walked over to the counter where one medical robot had finished running the test she ordered. Reading the print out, she was surprised by what she saw. "According to this, the blood is a mix of human B+ with hemolymph, (insect blood), mixed within it. It shouldn't be possible, but it is."

The medical robot shrugged and went back to work taking different samples from Emperor to determine how far the changes went. The other robot was using sensors to pinpoint what part of the brain had been affected and if possible, find a way to connect with Hawkmoth to determine his location.

Taking a pair of medical scissors, Peace Keeper cut a few strands from the sash to study. The whole sash glowed brightly as the energy in the room became negative. The secret agent felt the energy trying to take over only for a light green energy pulse from her pocket forced it away from her. Taking a few deep breaths, she gave the orders to the robots and animatronics to keep doing what they were doing and to have the akuma in a special cell by mid-afternoon. She would be contacting President Aboulatta tonight and wanted him to see her progress.

Remembering her promise, she headed back to the control room/lab. Turning on the animatronics, she had them start whispering among themselves to distract the heroes. Coming back down, she slipped the weapons through the slot in the door. "I see you two have been busy, I was hoping you would be able to entertain yourselves."

"How much longer are you going to keep us here? Haven't we been through enough? You've locked us up, interrogated us, made us Guinee pigs for testing and tortured us. What more do we have to do before we're released?" Chat Noir hissed his tail twitching in anger.

"We've cooperated with everything and I thought that you would let us go once you determined we're not terrorists, conspirators, or criminals. How can you even still justify this?" Ladybug whispered softly.

Mystery looked away unsure how to answer that. Pausing for a few minutes the figure contemplated an answer. "Know that by late tonight, the one in charge of all this will decide your fate. I will personally fight for your release. Excuse me, I have to get back to studying this Akuma."

* * *

Getting back into the lab, she placed the tiny pieces of fabric under a slide and used the electronic microscope to study the pieces. Magnifying the lens, she studied the strands individually. Strange little particles were attached to the threads giving off an unidentified energy type. With tiny tweezers she picked up a thread.

She placed the thread into a chemical bath watching for its reaction. What she was treated to was the unusual reaction. The thread disappeared and something blackish-purple started to take over the bath. Watching it spread, Peace Keeper scrambled to figure out how to stop it.

The giggly female animatronic came over, looked at the black gunk, and then knocked the bath over. The gunk spilled everywhere growing faster and faster. As it climbed the cabinets it stopped spreading when it came in contact with gemstone dust. Seeing the opportunity, Peace Keeper scattered the dust over the blackish-purple gunk stopping its growth. "I wasn't expecting that to happen." Getting off her seat, she guided the animatronic back to her seat. Turning on the PA, the female's giggly voice was heard in the cell.

"Our tests are having unexpected results. Can you please tell us all of what you know on magic please?"

"I know it's a shock, but it's time we approached the elephant in the room," the male animatronic wheezed out.

Leaving the shocked heroes to answer some questions, Peace Keeper went back to work analyzing the strands and testing the gunk. As she continued to study the strands she discovered the particles and blackish-purple gunk were the same. They were the source of the mixed blood. It appeared when it came into contact with an object, it completely changed the chemical makeup of the object, causing it to give what she could only describe neural pulses.

When the medical tests came in, she compared brain activity to the neural pulses caused by the unknown energy source. Somehow this stuff changed how the brain communicated with the body. While certain parts of the brain were turned off so to speak, others turned on. The unknown energy pulses sent out a signal of sorts. Hawkmoth must have a receiver of some kind that allowed him access to the person's brain. This was probably how he controlled his victims, maybe even how he found his victims.

"This kind of metamorphic change and tech is not possible. No one is nearly close to figuring out how the entire brain works, let alone transmit unknown energy pulses from the brain to be picked up at such a distance." It was magic right before her eyes. Maybe if she could find out what type of energy was powering the process, she could develop a shield of some sort that would prevent the signal from getting out, maybe even avoiding any more people changing.

Uploading the energy wave pattern into her laptop, she ran a check to see if anyone had discovered a similar pattern before. Her laptop beeped as it brought up a chart. To her shock, the heroes' accessories were giving off the same type of energy. It had also detected a similar source somewhere in the facility, but couldn't pinpoint it exactly. There was no doubt, she would have to personally examine the earrings and ring to figure out the energy source.

* * *

As soon as that thought entered her head, the charm in her pocket heated up, nearly burning a hole through the pocket. She swayed on her feet and stumbled to the ground. Ignoring the burning sensation, she crawled her way into the kitchen area. Despite the pain, she managed to stand up and grab some ice out of the freezer. Tearing her outfit around her waist, she pushed the ice on the slowly growing charm shaped burn. As the cooling icy touch reduced the burn, the charm stopped heating up. Peace Keeper let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"Never has the charm done that before. Why? It's always helped me before. All I wanted to do was study the accessories, ahhhhhhhhhh!" The burning sensation returned causing her more pain. "Stop! Please stop!" The charm obeyed her ceasing its burning. Getting up again from the floor she sat down at the kitchen table, grabbed a cookie, and started munching on it.

It didn't take a genius IQ to realize that her precious charm reacted to any time she thought or mentioned out loud that she wanted to take a look at the earrings and the ring. Before when she had thought about them in a casual or impassive manner it hadn't heated up. Since her focus had shifted it was hurting her. Clearly, the charm must have been the similar source that she'd detected earlier.

Opening up her suppressed memory a tiny fragment of it played out in her mind.

 _Flash_

 _The little six year old snuggled under the covers of the small bed the old man had given her for the night. Tomorrow he promised to help her find her handlers. She yawned ready to go to sleep, but the voice of the man and his companion carried into the room._

 _"Master, do you really think it's wise to give the girl back to her handlers? Handlers, not guardians, parents, siblings, or mentor! The child doesn't even see what is wrong with that."_

 _"Calm yourself my friend. As much as I abhor what is being done with the girl, I can't kidnap her! What kind of hero would I be? No, we must let her go, but I will not return her, without leaving something, to guide her. Hopefully, it will help her maintain a sense of self and the courage do what she believes is right."_

 _The companion made a snapping sound and whispered something so faintly she only caught the words; stand up, superiors, control. Her eyes grew heavy and sleep overtook her."_

 _Flash!_

* * *

Peace Keeper sat back in the chair thinking about the sliver or a memory. With a whim she could allow the entire memory play out in her head as she had done dozen of times before. If only she had the freedom to do so now. A warble sound came from her laptop alerting her that someone had left her a video message.

Hobbling over to the laptop she brought up the message. President Aboulatta face appeared on her screen. He was seated at his desk with a pleased expression on his face. "Peace Keeper, I believe congratulations are in order. I received a private message from President Hollande that you were successful in the capturing of the two terrorist suspects and the mutated soldier. With any luck, you'll have the final terrorist contained by eight local time, when our scheduled update happens.

This entire secret security investigation has been a success so far. France's security holes are being plugged up and soon they won't have to worry about the domesticated terrorist causing damage to Paris. I understand that you might have felt a minor discomfort for ignoring Article Five however the results have paid off. I expect a fully _scientific_ and normal report. Keep up the good work Peace Keeper and the Security Council might even let you have a few days' vacation. Good bye."

The video message ended leaving Peace Keeper even more divided. She could hear the threat underneath his praise. A promise that if she didn't complete this mission successfully, he would use his position to keep her locked down for an unknown period of time or something worse if her report didn't match his standards. Her emotions were all over the place before cold logic took control.

Walking over to the terminal, she reviewed the footage in the infirmary. Emperor was still unconscious and the security bots were not going to let him escape. Gritting her teeth, she stared at the teens, who were sitting on the cots, resting for a bit. She tapped a button on the panel.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had no idea that an invisible sleeping gas had been released into their cells. Their bodies started to feel heavy as they let out several yawns. Finally the curled up and went into a deep sleep.

For the first time in her life, Peace Keeper ignored her charm, as she entered the cells. A small voice in her head kept pleading with her to not do what she was doing, that it was a huge mistake. But the voice was drowned out by a louder voice of the Security Council she had served all her life. Her own voice was pushed aside as she entered a state of complete compliance to her training.

Slowly, she took off Ladybug's earring and stuffed them in an evidence bag along with something else. Glancing down, she was surprised to see the young, kind, and slightly nervous Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Without a conscious thought she gently tugged the blanket to cover her and moved the privacy screen to surround her.

She did the same thing with Chat Noir. Again she was surprised to see the polite and relaxed teen Adrien Agreste laying before her. On autopilot she hid his identity and tightened her grip on the evidence bag. Locking the cells she marched up into the Control Room and strode into the lab section to get started.

* * *

Checking the cameras one more time to make certain that Emperor was still unconscious, she opened the evidence bags and slid the earrings and ring out. Tumbling on top of the counter were two mini creatures. All she saw was one was red and the other was black. They made a dash for the jewelry, only to have Peace Keeper to swat them away.

The two little creatures were very fast and each time she tried to get them, they just sped away or went through something. Realizing it was a distraction she grabbed a bell jar, made of pure see through quartz, slamming it on top of the counter, trapping the little critters along with the jewelry. She removed part of her hood, revealing her eyes, the bridge of her nose, and some of her wing, so could get a closer look at the creatures.

One was a red and black spotted ladybug like creature with big blue eyes. The creature looked up at with an intense expression, as if it was trying to figure out who she was. Her companion, the cutest flying cat ever, started yelling at her with curse words. Peace Keeper hitched her breath as her eyes widen in disbelief. Her color dramatically changed, going so pale she was almost the color of a corpse. She stumbled back into table.

Tikki and Plagg looked at one another not understanding this reaction at all. Sure humans were always afraid of them when they first appeared and they were strange. Both would swear though, there was a sign of recognition and a sense of something familiar that was softly glowing in the human's pocket.

"Kwamii," the young woman whispered. "You're Kwamiis"

"Did she just say Kwamii?" Plagg whispered to his best friend in utter shock.

"She did, how would she know what we are?" Tikki replied. She placed a stubby hand against the jar and wiggled her antennas, trying to hear better through the glass.

"Kwamiis, Tikki and Plagg, the Miraculous. Why didn't I remember when I first heard that word?!" Standing up she moved back to the jar mumbling to herself. "The Ladybug earrings and the Cat ring, two of the most powerful Miraculous. Wayzz, no wonder I was smelling tea and damp turtle." Lifting the jar she gave them a sad smile. "I'm sorry I didn't let myself remember sooner. At least ,I know what's giving Hawkmoth his powers and why he's after; the Kwamii of Creation and Good Luck and her partner the Kwamii of Destruction and Bad Luck."

Tikki and Plagg jaws had fallen. How in the world did this human know their names, let along their powers? The human picked up the Miraculous and started to give them back, when the door to the control center was slashed clean through. Instinctively, Peace Keeper hid the Miraculous in her pocket zipping it tightly. "Get to the kitchen and hide! I won't let him take your Miraculous!"

Snatching up her hood, she grabbed a vial of something yellow and positioned herself in one of her fighting stances, legs spread apart, her weight shifted to give her flexibility and speed, and her hands ready to strike. Outside the lab the destruction of her animatronic helpers was heard. Hearing his footsteps getting closer she got ready.

Emperor had slashed his way into the lab only to be blinded by an explosive yellow cloud. His eyes burned and his lungs felt like they were on fire. Hand strikes bombarded him striking pressure points. Enraged he plowed forward as his opponent side stepped him and let his slide across the floor on the blackish-purple goo. He smacked himself into the counter and fell flat on his back.

He caught the foot that was about to crush him and tossed the person to the right. Getting up, he started fighting with his sword again as his mysterious foe slid and dodged the attacks. Jumping up on a table the mysterious foe took a flying leap at the ceiling, swung herself forward using the light fixture and landed behind the Akuma. "If you think I'll hand over the Miraculous then you are even dumber politician than I thought!"

"I'm not a politician I'm the Emperor!" he kicked the table at her. Standing her ground she let the table hit her driving her back so she was in a less cluttered area. Standing up, she brushed off the table remains like they were no big deal. This act of defiance angered the Akuma further. "How dare you defy your Emperor?"

"You're not the Emperor and why shouldn't I defy you? Without your patron Hawkmoth you are nothing. I'm tired of playing with you. Either I talk to Hawkmoth or I bring this whole facility down on us," she warned pulling a small remote that she had hiding in her sleeve.

"You wouldn't dare! You'd be killing everyone here including yourself. Even cause damage to the surface."

"True we won't survive, but the Kwamiis will and so will the Miraculous. As long as they survive to find holders, then I don't lose and you don't win." Holding tightly on the remote, she hoped her bluff was enough to get her true target to come on out.

As soon as that purple butterfly mask appeared she tossed the remote in the air. Emperor made a grab for it, only to find Peace Keeper tackle him to the ground. Her hand was glowing green as she magically gripped the purple mask. At once the world faded away.

* * *

Peace Keeper found herself in large purple space. Butterflies of all different colors flocked around her. Walking through them she called out to one. "Nooroo! Nooroo! Please, if you have any strength come to me. I want to help you!"

The butterflies disappeared as a single mauve one appeared right before her eyes. He looked so tired and weak, that she cupped him in her hands gently. "Oh Nooroo, what has that man done to you?"

"You know…who I am? You're the voice…from earlier. You protected me. It's been a long time since I've felt the power you carry. If you see Wayzz tell him I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Nooroo." The butterfly Kwamii vanished from her hands and her surroundings changed to Hawkmoth lair and he was standing right in front of her. "Hawkmoth I presume?"

"Who are you, what have you done to me, what Miraculous do you have that allows you to walk in my mind?"

So he knew that they were talking in a mindscape, smart. "I carry no Miraculous and what I've done or who I am, is none of your concern. Hawkmoth, you are under arrest for acts of terrorism, destruction of property, and assault. By order of the President of France, you are to surrender now and be taken into custody."

Hawkmoth threw his head back and laughed hard while Peace Keeper frowned. She started marching over towards him only for him to slam his cane down glaring at her with the coldest expression ever. "Do you really think you can arrest _me?_ No government will ever be able to take me into custody and it's absurd that you think you can even arrest me when you're not really here!"

Peace Keeper said nothing. Her eyes darted about as she analyzed her surroundings. Large private room. The window was perched at angle and its design looked expensive. Her hearing could detect the hint of traffic passing by. Staring straight at Hawkmoth, the villain shivered. To his astonishment he saw his costume slowly disappearing as his thoughts echoed around the duo.

" _I need the Miraculous to bring her back, nothing more is important than that."_

" _Idiots, all of them, how hard is it to snatch jewelry from two teenagers?"_

" _The shipment is late, how is my company supposed to finish creating our new line in time?!"_

" **Get out of my mind!"**

Peace Keeper felt the connection snap as she returned to her body. She felt someone grab her around her neck squeezing it tightly, trying to crush her airway. Emperor had nasty grin on his face as he continued to increase pressure. "Patron Hawkmoth has ordered your death and I have to agree with him. You have caused enough trouble for both of us." Swinging his arm he tossed her through the kitchen door, the glass window exploded as she went through.

Peace Keeper's vision was blurred and she tasted blood on her tongue. Her androgynist outfit was shredded in many places, her gender now visible. Pushing herself up, she gestured with her left hand for the Kwamiis to stay hidden as she prepared to be attacked again. Emperor stalked into the room, his sword raised as he prepared to cut off her head. "Any last words traitorous witch?"

"Aller à l'enfer empereur!" she spat at him, her blood staining his sash. Wiping the blood off his sash the sword sliced through the air. Seconds before it hit her the sword was ripped out of his hands as Emperor started screaming for his life.

The spirits of the catacombs had beseeched him. His clothes were torn and his skin covered in scratches. One spirit even destroyed all his hair! They tried take his sash from him, only for it to glow blackish-purple preventing anyone from touching this. "What manner of attack is this?!"

"I gave an oath to the spirits here, that I wouldn't damage their resting place nor spill blood here. I have done so, making sure that nothing destroyed the structure and I have kept the heroes alive and treated quickly when they were injured. You broke that oath by spilling my blood, so now the spirits are angry with you," Peace Keeper explained calmly to the Akuma.

Watching the transformed human being torn apart by the spirits gave her a respite to regain her energy. "Spirits, heed my call. I know that you're not pleased by what has been done, but this man is infected by evil and is not responsible for his actions." The spirits turned to her silently listening to her words. She pushed forwarded reminding them, that if they killed him, they be spilling innocent blood.

Her words rang with truth and the man did give off a lot of negative energy. Dropping the Akuma, the spirits returned to their resting places. With them gone, the secret agent turned her attention back to the man. A purple butterfly mask popped over the Akumas face and whatever Hawkmoth was telling him wasn't good news.

"Thank you for saving my life," Emperor said slowly standing up. Squeezing his sash, he healed himself. He rocked on his feet for a second before returning to normal. "Normally, I be in your debt, but my patron has come up with a clever idea. This President who rules my country ordered you to capture us and bring us to justice, but it will be us who will enjoy the spoils of this war."

"What are you talking about?"

"The execution of the false leader of France! I shall capture this man and at the sight of my greatest triumph shall end his life, unless of course you hand over what my Patron wants. You have an hour to decide." Sheathing his sword, he plowed straight through the ceiling, into the store and out hunting for his prey.

Tikki and Plagg came out of their hiding spots as Peace Keeper sank to her knees crying her heart out. "I have put the entire country in danger, when all I wanted was for it to be secured and peaceful. Now the president is in danger and it's all my fault. What have I done? What have I done?"


	8. Fixing a Mistake

**I want to thank all my reviewers so far and that I hope you enjoy this chapter. I also ask that you reserve final judgment on my OC Peace Keeper until the end of the story and reread some of the chapters. I got the feeling that some of you might have skipped a few key hints about my character. Also, all steps mentioned in this chapter on hostage negotiation come from a valid source.**

* * *

Peace Keeper didn't move as she continued to cry. She had never failed this bad before. An entire country would fall because of her mistake. For the first time in her controlled and secret existence, her training and upbringing, failed her. If only she had listened to herself or her charm, instead of obeying her superiors' orders, none of this would have happened.

There was hiss and her hand flew to her cheeks as she rubbed tiny scratch marks on her face. Wiping the tears off her face, she locked her eyes with Tikki and Plagg for a second before her eyes and expression became downcast. "I deserve that and a lot more for my huge mistake. I hurt you and your wielders greatly. What I've done is unforgivable."

Plagg swooped down and clawed her face some more before Tikki pulled him off. He shrugged her off and hissed again. "You're right about two things, you did hurt us a lot and I want to shred you for putting Adrien in danger."

"Plagg," Tikki started to say before he held up a paw. "The second thing is you did is make a mistake, but you're the only one who can fix it. Both Tikki and I, know what you're carrying in your pocket, and if you have it, then there must be a reason why."

Peace Keeper looked at the Kwamii in disbelief. Plagg was the Kwamii of Destruction and Bad Luck, why wasn't he cursing her or just ending her existence right here and now? "I don't understand. Why are you not punishing me for what I've done?"

"We've been around for over five thousand years and believe me, I've seen the worst of human behavior. The evil humans can commit, like what's being done to Nooroo right now? It makes me wonder sometimes if we Kwamiis shouldn't just hide our Miraculous and disappear to who knows where." Plagg closed his eyes, his ears flattened as he crossed his arms in anger. He floated in front of Peace Keepers face. "I've also witnessed how much good humans can do."

Tikki understood what her counterpart was trying to say. She flew over and landed on the woman's shoulders. "You've made a huge mistake, but so have many Ladybugs and Chat Noirs. Just because someone is chosen to wield a Miraculous doesn't mean they're perfect. Some of my Ladybugs did things that were just as bad, if not worse than, the situation we're in now. Even Plagg can attest to that." The tiny black cat nodded his head. "You regret what you did and that's a nice first step. Right now though, you need to fix your mistake."

Peace Keeper nodded her head in agreement. "I know, but I can't do it alone. I don't know if Marinette and Adrien will want to, but I need all four of you to fix this. I promise after the President's safe and Mayor Bourgeois is returned to normal, I'll tell all of you the truth about myself, my little charm, and why I did the things I did."

Tikki smiled happily rubbing the young woman's face. Plagg to stick out his tongue at the sappiness. He then whined about how hungry he was and that after holding the transformations for so long he was super super hungry. At that moment Tikki's stomach growled loudly. They both needed a mega recharge.

"You two eat cookies and Camembert right?" Without hesitation Peace Keeper strolled over to the fridge, opening it to reveal a four month supply of the Kwamiis favorite food! "I was wondering why I had such an intense craving for all this. Eat up. I need to get to the infirmary to grab the antidote to the sleeping gas and some potions to help your chosen regain their full strength and energy."

Heading into the infirmary, she saw the destruction Emperor had caused in his bid for freedom. Both medical robots and animatronic guards had been completely destroyed. The stretcher had been flipped completely over. Instruments of all kinds had been deeply embedded into the stone walls. Medicine bottles had been spewed all about.

I hope he didn't get to the cabinet where I stored the antidote and potions she thought to herself. Hurrying over to the far left corner she opened the cupboard letting out a sigh of relief. The antidote and the potions hadn't been touched. Finding a syringe she hurried back to the control room. Plagg and Tikki had fallen to the floor of the kitchen, their stomachs now little pouches. "Did you leave anything in the fridge?"

"There's enough left for another transformation if you're asking. Burp!"

Shaking her head, she ducked into the sleeping area and pulled out a bag. Removing the damage parts of her androgyny outfit she was left in her regular liaison clothes, before reemerging and giving the earrings and ring back to the Kwamiis. "I have to wake them up one at a time. You better be there otherwise they'll panic."

* * *

The first person she decided to wake was Marinette hoping that she would be calmer then Adrien. Turning off the cell's security, Tikki phased through the screen and hovered over her chosen. Propping Marinette up, Peace Keeper gave her the injection. About a minute later the bluenette eyes fluttered open and she coughed hard.

"Here, drink this slowly. It will help you recover your strength. I promise it's not poison." Marinette took a huge sip of the potions. She could taste berries, mixed with something leafy and something she couldn't identify. Whatever it was, it made her feel full of energy and the pains and aches disappeared.

"Marinette! I'm so glad you're okay!" Tikki hugged the teen's face, who smiled brightly at her Kwamii. It then clicked in her mind that she was in her normal clothes and Tikki was holding the earrings. Before she could fall off her cot someone steadied her. "Ms. Gardien?!"

"Not exactly. Tikki, can you tell her about what happened? I need to go treat Chat Noir." The Kwamii nodded leaving Marinette very confused and a bit angry.

It was the same situation with Adrien who couldn't hide the sense of betrayal. Never had he met an adult who had been so kind then turned around and hurt him so much. Joining Ladybug in the open hallway he pounced on the UN Liaison.

"Why did you do this to us? Where are we and where is everyone else? How could you let the Akuma escape! What did you think would happen when you mentioned the president?"

"Chat Noir, calm down," Ladybug told him, inside she was seething too. She felt hurt and betrayed, her trust shattered. Even though Tikki kept telling her there was more to the situation then she knew, it couldn't change how she was feeling right now.

"I deserve more than your anger and if after this, you want to exact revenge, I won't stop you, but please I need your help to fix my mistake."

"Why should we help you Ms. Gardien? After all we've been put through for what purpose?"

Freeing herself from Chat Noir's claws she responded to his questions. "No one in the world knew about you, not even the rest of France. After the terrorist attacks, things came to light and France was under scrutiny for a major lapse in security at the UN. I was dispatched to join the team and follow specific orders, including finding and learning the truth about Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Hawkmoth, to determine if you were dangerous terrorist or something along that line.

During the investigation, we uncovered a conspiracy here and eventually that led to your capture and treatment in this hidden facility, President Hollande commissioned for suspected terrorists in off limits area in the catacombs. The whole place was manned by recommissioned animatronics and robots. I'm the only human here."

Hearing that the teens got even angrier not even hearing their Kwamiis. How could an entire world be against them and person dedicated to peace do such horrible things. Both them had half a mind to beat her up with their weapons. Ms. Gardien just stood there waiting for them to attack.

"What I did you was wrong and unforgivable. Following my superiors orders and obeying my training, is no excuse. No matter what punishment I would have received for disobeying direct orders, I should have tried harder to listen to what I thought was right."

The Miraculous teens just stood there not sure what to do. "I don't know what I can do to earn your trust, but I can't fix this mistake on my own. I need your help. I guess a good place to start is by showing you my true self." The teens scrunched their faces not knowing what she meant. "Nicole Gardien is just an alias for this mission."

First, she took off the wig and unpinned her flowing black hair. The contacts came out revealing her green eyes. Using some water from the alcove she removed all the movie make up and putty changing her facial structure. A quick spurt from a can and her skin returned to normal. Kicking off her shoes, she returned to her normal height, just towering a bit over Chat Noir. When she started to strip right there in front of them, the two of them turned around.

After a few minutes she told them to turn around and they did. She was now dressed in a form fitting body suit. The outer part of the legs were black and they crept up her waist, criss-crossing over her breasts forming an X before becoming her elbow length sleeves. The inside of the legs, abdomen, side and collar were dark maroon as grey piping went up and down the suit. She wore tall black boots with a white rim and streak going down the middle. Black fingerless gloves connected with maroon colored wrists bands like gauntlets. A brown pocketed belt hugged her hips. On her face, she wore a yellow cat's eye style mask.

"My name is Project Peace Keeper," she announced in her multi accented voice.

* * *

In the Elysian Palace, President Hollande was sitting in his office listening as his aide told him about the recent capture of the Akumatized Mayor. He arched his eyebrows upon hearing who had actually caught the beast and how. "Are you certain Ms. Gardien was the one to capture the Akuma?"

"Yes, sir. She has been working hard with Captain Tremaine to catch the Akuma. Her unconventional methods, using a salt circle and wearing a cat's eye necklace seemed to prevent the former mayor from attacking her so she could use his army's banner to tie him up in a makeshift straight jacket. She was last seen taking the Akuma away from the scene."

"No doubt, meeting up with the special agent I assigned to the task." He would have to contact Peace Keeper later tonight to find out what the agent had learned about these three mysterious subjects. After that, he could lift the semi state of emergency and normal life would truly begin again. Straightening his tie he told his aide to keep him informed on any updates of the situation. Dismissing the aide, he returned to doing his work.

All was quiet as he worked. With the Eighth arrondissement on lock down, for once there wasn't any outside distractions. He was reviewing some reports about how the different arrondissements had handled their semi state of emergency drill when the entire building was rocked by cannon fire sending the man to the floor.

Outside, Emperor stood proudly as his re-summoned troops continued to barrage the Elysian Palace. "Steady men, remember I want as much of the Palace to remain intact for when I get rid of the leader. Ready the cannons!" Emperor called out to his men.

Emperor smirked enjoying the irony of the situation. If that strange woman hadn't mentioned the President, Hawkmoth wouldn't have reminded him that he could use the power emanating from the Napoleon Room, to renew his power to the fullest. The cannons boomed as the balls destroyed several second story windows.

The retaliation by the GSRP was swift. The security forces fired back with their pistols, while others were calling for higher powered weapons to be brought in. His army continued to march forward, shooting their own guns and cannons in continuous destruction of the building.

 _"Patron, my forces are not advancing fast enough. If I'm to claim my throne, I'll need to enter the building as quickly as possible."_

 _"Use your powers Emperor to bring to life everything in the room that was made in your honor. Take control of the paintings. That should clear the path for you."_

The Emperor focused his mind on the building in front of him. Holding the sash as tight as he could, used the strange magical energy to connect with the Napoleon Room and paintings. A blackish purple mist surrounded them and a few seconds later a series of small explosions went off inside the building injuring a few GSRP members.

As Hawkmoth predicted the GSRP had to divide their attention between the army advancing and the chaos going on in the halls. The living paintings took the shots and kept advancing towards their foes. A few members of the GSRP extended their batons in hopes of destroying the artwork. Instead the paintings covered their batons and oozed around the security detail holding them in place as they attempted to smother the agents to death. Outside the army had overtaken part of the entrance clearing a path for Emperor to march through the destruction, drawn by some instinct to the location of the President.

President Holland was surrounded by four members of the GSRP, each of them surveying the area as they herded the President in the direction of a secret passage that would get them out of the building. As they hurried through the building, one of them kept tapping his radio trying to get in touch with the other squads.

"Squad one come in. Squad one come in over." The man tapped his radio again only to hear static. "Nothing, we are blind here."

A female member of the GSRP, who was covering the right flank, searched the intersection they had just entered. "Clear. The passage way isn't much further."

"Mr. President, stay in the middle, we'll get you out and to safety." The man on the left flank promised him. The person on point halted them as they made it to their destination. A panel that lead to a servant's staircase that went down and out to the Winter Gardens. The man was about to remove the panel only to be hit the shoulder by a bullet.

"Get down Mr. President!" The security detail started firing their weapons aiming to take out the Akuma, who marched forward swinging his sword deflecting the bullets. Summoning more artifacts the security detail found themselves overwhelmed. Several times dishes would smash against their head or bits of architecture would punch them in the gut. Several heavy chairs fell on top of them crushing them against the floor.

Emperor laughed at their folly using his sword to pin President Hollande to the wall. "So you are the imposter, who ordered my arrest. How do you think that made me feel?" President Hollande said nothing waiting to hear the rest of the rant as he showed no fear. He was the leader of this county and he wouldn't let a low life mayor intimidate him.

"I've done away with kings, generals, and many more important leaders who thought they were above me. Only I, the true Emperor, can rule this country. You're agent tried to stop me by learning about my Patron's gift. The agent fought well, but still even the mightiest falls."

"I will not fall to you Bourgeois! I'll make sure you never see the light of day conspirator! You are nothing compared to me! I have the whole country at my side and all you have is nothing, but a bunch of relics. I will…" whatever Hollande was going to say he never finished. Emperor had smacked him in the face so hard he was down for the count.

Picking up his prize Emperor calmly walked out the building ignoring the sounds of battle still going on. Summoning his horse again, he threw the President over the horse's flank and galloped off with his troops regrouping towards him.

* * *

Back with the heroes and Peace Keeper, they were all running across rooftops. Ladybug in front, Peace Keeper in the middle, and Chat Noir in the back. If Peace Keeper tried anything, he was ready to react in an instant. As he watched the twenty something year old keep pace with them, he had to admit her suit was one of a kind.

Peace Keeper was something of guanie pig herself. Different countries would have her test prototypes of different sorts of armor and tech. It was the only way to ensure one country didn't gain greater control then the other. After they had improved the prototype, she was allowed to keep it and had merged it all together to make, what she called her risky mission outfit.

The suit was bullet, water, fire and radiation proof. The material was super strong and at the same time stretchable and light, to allow full movement, flexibility, and breathability to avoid overheating. There were springs in her boots as well as magnetic grips in the soles and palms of her gloves to help adhere the buildings, with alternative grips for different surfaces. Biomuscle amplification gave her the same level of physical abilities as the two heroes.

A belt full of gadgets for different situations including using it as a bungee line in the belt itself to climb or swing where she needed to go. Her wristbands turned out to be a sophisticated mini-computer and analyzer pad. Her mask had special filters in the lens that allowed her to look into different EM spectrums and the shape helped amplify any sounds in the area.

Ladybug watched Peace Keeper, keeping her thoughts to herself. The young woman jumped into a major gap between the buildings, Twisting herself in the air, she shot out her bungee belt line, wrapping it around a service entrance, she let the line reel her in before retracting it and landing on the rooftop. A few acrobatic stunts and she was back to running the rooftops keeping herself plainly in the middle.

The spotted heroine landed next to her and started running with her. Chat Noir pole vaulted until he was even with them. Peace Keeper ducked her head down trying to look smaller, which was impossible when you were 5'7 and an adult running with teens. "If you have questions, just ask."

"I have a question that pawsitively needs an answer. Have you done this before? I mean run across rooftops chasing people down?" he asked in a control tone.

"On a peace mission, you never know what will happen. At times, a team will find themselves being attacked by those who wish to restart a conflict. Learning to move in all types of environments is important. My superiors thought it would be best to learn some acrobatic and aerialist moves." She rubbed her arms as if remembering the training. "I fell a number of times before I managed to get through one run completely."

There was a beep from her wrist computer indicating the biochip had been rejected from Emperor's body. Stopping for a minute she brought up a screen. "We're too late. Emperor has already struck at the Elysian Palace. From the radio chatter he's managed to get President Hollande."

The three of them stood there in silence. Rescuing the Mayor was easier than rescuing the President of France, especially when it was the Mayor of Paris who did the abduction! So what was their next step? Ladybug turned to Peace Keeper and asked, "You've been tracking Emperor for three days now. He also mentioned a place you were supposed to meet him in about thirty minutes to hand over our Miraculous. Do you know where he's going?"

Peace Keeper nodded and brought up the Arc of the Triumph, the last great source of Napoleon energy. With how big it was there was no telling how much power he could draw from it.

"Okay we need to get their first and figure out a plan. Chat, keep an eye out for any sign of Emperor and his army." Chat gave her his trademark grin as they all started running double time.

As they ran, the two heroes were talking silently with their Kwamiis about the situation.

" _Tikki, I'm still not sure this is a good idea. We still don't know a lot about Peace Keeper and how can we work with her, with such little trust between us?"_

" _Let her earn your trust. She genuinely wants to help. Taking responsibility for a mistake and keeping in line with your orders is a sign she really wants to earn your trust again."_

Chat Noir kept running all out while Plagg talked in his head. _"I can't believe how much cheese she had. You should ask her where she got her stash from so you can double mine!"_

" _Plagg you are out of your mind if I'm going to ask her anything! As soon as this is over and we have the truth, I'm going to make sure that she can't ever tell anyone our secret!"_

" _Now, you're starting to act like Hawkmoth. I know you don't believe that I'm helpful or smart. That all I care about is cheese. Well you'd be right about the cheese and that I suck at times being helpful, but I am smart."_

" _Really? How so?"_

" _Look at her. She's a grown woman listening to teenagers, which almost never happens. Plus you can tell by the way she moves that rescuing the President is as important to her as returning the mayor back to normal is to you and Ladybug."_

The trio stopped as they stood on a rooftop as the examined the streets leading up to the roundabout surrounding the Arc of the Triumph. The entire police force surrounded the Arc. GSRP and CSA were taking over buildings getting into position for a fight. Surrounding the Arc itself, were Napoleon period soldiers and some of the carvings had come to life as well. On the top of the Arc, Emperor was holding the President hostage, daring the snipers to shoot him to death.

"This is not good, not good at all," Peace Keeper whispered. The other two looked at her wondering why she was paling again. "They're preparing to take out Emperor to save President Hollande."

"They wouldn't! Everyone knows that Akuma's are in control of their actions, Hawkmoth is!"

Peace Keeper shook her head reminding him of her earlier statement about the government not knowing about them. "Even if they did know that, it doesn't change anything. The GSRP are trained to take out any threats to the President." Pressing the side of her mask, the eye filters allowed her to use x-ray vision to peer into some of the nearby buildings. She counted at least ten snipers setting up their weapons ready to shoot. "They're not even trying hostage negotiation at this point."

"We can't let them hurt either one of them. If we could just buy us a little time, Chat Noir and I could find a way to sneak over and get rid of the Akuma."

"Right, the police force and their buddies are really going to let us get close enough to buy time. Right now they could already have sights on him. Besides, none of us know how to get them to back down or negotiate for President Hollande's release." Chat Noir pointed out with a frown. Then he grinned and asked Peace Keeper, if she knew anyway to solve the problem.

Peace Keeper bit her lip. During her private conversation with President Hollande, he'd given her a few codes that would alert his security detail that she was friendly and her orders should be followed. She had never formally attempted to negotiate for a hostage release. A few years ago the Security Council had set up for a three week course to teach her the basics. It was a long shot, but it was the only one they had.

Pulling out three patches and the two necklaces from before from her belt, she showed them how to adhere the patches, which symbolized a specialized force unit, to their right shoulder. This would keep the three of them from being shot at. The necklaces would hopefully prevent them from being seen by the Akuma.

As Peace Keeper broadcasted the override codes to all the different units, the superhero duo made their way down the building and slowly sneaking their way towards the Arc. Captain Tremaine and Lt Rogers saw them and moved to arrest them when they got a private call telling them to protect the two heroes as they made their way to the Arc.

* * *

Emperor was getting angrier as he waited for his opponent. He tightened his grip on the President. "It would seem that your life isn't worth much. Then again, why would it be you imposter? The people need a strong, powerful, and smart leader, not an incompetent fool such as you."

President Hollande wisely said nothing. Being calm was the best way to avoid upsetting the situation. From up here, he could see everything going on in the circle. The tension in the air was thick. At any second the area could erupt into violent chaos.

A familiar sound of a zip line was heard. The Emperor turned his attention to towards the opposite end of the Arc roof. He hid his surprise when he saw a strangely dressed woman standing there. She held her hands out showing she had no weapons. "You're not who I was expecting. Who are you and why are you here?" His sword pressing against Hollande's throat.

"I'm the one in charge of the facility you broke out of earlier after you injured my agent. She couldn't make it, but I'm here in her place," the black hair woman assured. "You can call me Peace Keeper and I'm here to negotiate the release of the President in exchange for what you want," she told him as she slowly reached for a belt compartment. Carefully she opened it just enough to show a pair of earring and ring before closing it again.

A purple mask appeared over Emperor's face. _"Dispose of them both and bring me the Miraculous!"_

 _"Master, if I may…"_

 _"Quiet Nooroo, I don't want your advice."_

 _"Master please! If Emperor kills either of them, then he'll be shot dead before he can even get the Miraculous. There's no way he can survive even if he's an Akuma at the moment. We should try to negotiate his way out."_

 _Hawkmoth growled, but saw Nooroo's point. "Emperor go along with negotiations, but don't leave without securing the Miraculous!"_

Emperor nodded his head and announced he would be happy to negotiate his prisoner's life as long as he got his prize in the end. The woman nodded her head. "Before we can begin, I need to know more about what brought this situation on. Why don't you tell me what happened?" Step one: Active listening and demonstrated that you're truly listening to what the other person is saying.

"I have been this city's leader for eighteen years and was going to rule it for another six! During that time I have improved our fair city and preserved much of its culture. I'm leading progressive change while keeping our traditions strong. Everything I've done is for the greatness of the people of this capital. Especially for my prized jewel."

Peace Keeper nodded and gesticulated she wanted to hear more. Emperor continued his story as she nodded at the right moments, paused and asked open ended questions to clarify his grievances. "So to paraphrase what you're saying, is that you've been a great leader, showing compassion and strength during your reign. That whatever deeds that you are falsely accused of where to show you are the best one to lead the country and make sure your prized jewel is safe and happy. Did I get that correct?" While talking with him, she managed to get a foot and three inches closer, without him noticing.

Taking a quick side glance, Peace Keeper relaxed her posture while making direct eye contact with Emperor. Controlling her emotions, she started Step two: Empathy, showing that she understood his feelings. "Your rage and frustration is very relatable to me. You feel like your efforts aren't appreciated, even though without you none of this greatness is possible."

Using gesticulating she continued with her empathy. "Knowing you can do better than your superiors is difficult isn't it? All of this," she said pausing for a second. Emperor looked around the city before locking eyes on her again. "It's a perfection your prize deserves. I work hard so my prized jewel shines brightly against the common stones."

Emperor nodded as his relaxed his guard a smidgen. He was the one to instigate Step three: Rapport back at what he felt and trusting her. "To find someone who understands my position is so rare. Clearly you are no commoner. A person of your sophistication and high intelligence, must be upper crust. Why else would you be in charge of…"

"A facility designed to capture and gain the truth from monsters who would bring down the world?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Can you come closer my dear, I can't hear you so well." At the moment in his mind there was a slight conflict going on. Hawkmoth was urging him to get to the point where he could snag the Miraculous and leave. However another voice was telling him to keep his calm and work with Peace Keeper to get what he wanted.

Neither one knew that in one of Peace Keeper's belt compartments, she had a tiny sample of the gunk from earlier. Still covered in gem dust to prevent it from spreading, the gunk was broadcast its neural pulses, being so close to its source, however the lingering effects of her communication earlier with Hawkmoth, hadn't worn off, so she was attempting to get Mr. Bourgeois to wake up.

Time for Step four: Influence. With the trust she built, it was time to work on the problem at hand before Step five, Behavioral change. Making sure he acted appropriately by releasing Hollande and allowing Ladybug do deevilize him. In case he didn't she had a backup plan.

Taking a quick look at the watch she was surprised she'd been up on the roof for over an hour. "Emperor, we both want to walk away from this alive. You want the jewelry I have, and I want Hollande. Is there some we can work this out that benefits both of us?"

"All I want is for this imposter to step down as I am made Emperor of Paris once more. Also, my Patron wants his fee for helping me." He told her before raising his palm telling her to stop. He resumed pressing his sword against the man's throat this time drawing blood.

Peace Keeper could feel the Emperor's grip slipping a tiny bit. She needed to time this just right. "Alright an exchange then. President Hollande, would you step down and allow Emperor to resume control of his nation?" She blinked her eyes a few times hoping the man got the message.

"Of course, he's the rightful ruler of the nation and new monuments will be erected to honor him." This left a pleased expression on Emperor's face. "I'll hold you to that imposter. Now you want him and I want the jewelry. I release him and when he reaches halfway to you, you meet him and hand over the Miraculous to me."

She nodded, getting the Miraculous out of her pocket. She listened to what her senses were telling her as she started walking towards him. Not yet, not yet, almost now! In a split second she tossed the jewelry in the air. Seemingly out of nowhere, her personal weapon: a Jōhyō, appeared. With expertise, she flung the weapon allowing the dart to embed itself into the Arc. The bright feathers at the end masked her feet moving, as she grabbed the President and jumped off the top of the Arc swinging downward.

Above them, the fake jewelry changed into tiny stinging darts. They landed on the hand Emperor held his sash in causing it to bleed. As he cursed Ladybug and Chat Noir, who had been hiding under the Arc interior, swung up and got ready to fight.

Using her suits abilities, Peace Keeper managed to get the ground without injuring herself or the President. "Thank you for saving my life Peace Keeper. I think I owe you a favor," Hollande whispered.

"That's very kind of you sir. We'll discuss it a bit later. I promise a full report in a few hours. Right now, I need to get back to helping the heroes of Paris." Hollande nodded as she ran back towards the Arc as the GSRP took him away from the chaos.

* * *

Up on top of the Arc of the Triumph, Ladybug and Chat Noir, had their hands full. Fully angered that he had not only lost the President, but also fell for a fake set of Miraculous, Emperor had summoned all the sculptures from _Le Triomphe de 1810_ , dedicated to him to fight his foes.

Chat Noir ducked under the attacking Goddess of Victory statue, the statue turned around and threw the stone crown it held at the hero who swung his baton and striking it away. "Looks like your curve ball needs some work!" The statue heard him and landed in front of him. He stumbled back as the Goddess punched at him. He deflected the sculpture's fists before using a leg swipe to knock the Goddess off her feet. Crashing down the statue had its right side broken.

"Oh yeah victory is miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne!" Chat Noir found himself being carried off by Fame, the angel bearing a trumpet, by his tail. The kitty used his claws scratching at Fame's arm carrying a standard, (a pole with a small sculpture of an animal symbolic to the person in charge), trying to free his tail.

"Put me down you pawful statue! I don't have time for you!" The standard struck him in the temple, causing him to be temporarily dazed. Fame then dropped him before circling back to the top of the Arc of the Triumph.

 _"Adrien wake up! We're about to become a cheesy pizza and not the good kind!"_

 _"What the? Hold on!"_ Chat Noir flung his baton hitting his mark, the side of the Arc. It extended itself to the point he landed on it, gripping it tight with his appendages. Using it as a spring board he launched himself back on the roof. Snagging the baton in midair, he released it like a boomerang, so it cut off Fame's arms. He caught it and rolled on the roof as Fame made a landing glaring angrily at him.

"What's the matter? Have an artitache?"

"Behind you!" A voice shouted. Instinctively, he reacted ducking his head as the broken Goddess attempted to grab him with her left arm to choke him. Getting clear he looked in disbelief at who had given the warning.

Peace Keeper weaved around the Muse of History, flicking out her rope dart. It struck the allegory's head as she ripped the top half off. "I'll handle these two. Finish off Victory and Fame, we need to help Ladybug with Napoleon, his cosplayer, and the Prisoner." Nodding Chat Noir went back to work on destroying the winged statues.

Peace Keeper used the filter in her mask to pinpoint weak spots in the sculptures. She heard Muse coming from behind. Snagging its arm and tablet, she flung it over her shoulder, with the help of her biomuscle amplification. The Muse started forming cracks all over it. Allegory came to the rescue tossing its gift at her. She blocked it with her arms as the suit absorbed most of the impact as skidded backwards towards the edge. She did a forward flip avoiding Muse's tablet. Reaching into her belt, she tossed a glowing disk that latched itself on Allegory.

"Boom," she whispered pressing a button on her computer. The disk started emitting a high pitch screech. At the peak of pitch it released a sonic wave, causing the statue to crumble to dust. "One down, one to go." Muse stood up strong despite the cracks in it. "Let's see who the better history buff is." Enraged, the statue attacked with fury leaving Peace Keeper fighting defensively.

Ladybug yanked her yoyo tightly as the string sliced the Prisoner into pieces similar to Swiss cheese. She rolled out of the way as Napoleon tried to sink his sword into her head. Standing up, she found herself trapped in Emperor's arm as he reached for her earrings. Kicking him the shin, his grip lessened as she wiggled out of his reach. She tried to snag his sash, but Emperor head-butted her away. "Give up Ladybug. You will fall just as all my enemies have in the past."

"Keep dreaming Emperor, you're not winning this battle." Dodging sword strikes from both the sculpture and the Akuma, she flung her yoyo around in wide circle disarming both men. Jumping into the air she released her yoyo towards Napoleon, acting like a chain saw, sliced the sculptor in two. Hitting the roof, it broke into tiny pieces.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir shouted as he and Peace Keeper ran up and flanked the sides. A look of determination could be seen on all their faces. "Time for you to surrender Emperor."

"I still have one strategy left!" Clutching his sash all the broken statue pieces flew into the sky merging together in the shape of a spiked ball. "I'll take the Miraculous off your dead bodies!" he yelled as he dropped the object.

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir found themselves pushed to the ground as Peace Keeper towered over them. There was no time to ask what she was doing. They saw her hands glowing light green for a split second with her mouthing two words, shell guard, as the bomb came down on top of them.

Down below, the law enforcement held their breath, praying that somehow the three heroes had survived the death trap. On top of the Arc, Emperor smiled as he couldn't wait to take the Miraculous to his Patron, who was waiting in anticipation to see his dream come true.

As the dust cleared, everyone was shocked by what they saw. A faint glowing green energy force field, in the shape of a turtle shell, had formed around the heroes protecting them from harm. Peace Keeper was breathing hard as she lowered her hands and placed something back in her pocket. She almost fell to the ground in exhaustion if not held by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Everyone was stunned not sure what had just happened.

"Ladybug, we could use some luck right now!" Peace Keeper ordered, still focused on the mission at hand.

"Right. Lucky Charm!" What fell into her arms was ladybug patterned giant airbag. She started scanning with her observation skills. The roof, Chat Noir, Peace Keeper and her rope dart, along with the Emperor and open space on the ground. "I got it. Chat Noir use Cataclysm on the roof. Peace Keeper grab the mayor with your rope dart and started bouncing on down before flinging him my direction. I'll take care of the rest."

"My Lady, your wish is my command." Chat Noir sprinted towards Emperor, who was about to use his sash again. "Not this time. Cataclysm!" Slamming his hand down, the ancient spell of destruction destroyed the right side of the roof sending him crashing towards the ground.

The rope dart wrapped itself around Emperors left arm, preventing it from touching the sash. Peace Keeper bounced from falling debris to falling debris. At the right moment used the momentum and height of the bounce she flung him through the air like a human cannonball.

Emperor sailed through the air and landed on the air bag. He bounced up as his sash was snagged by the yoyo and pulled off. Hitting the airbag again the wind was knocked out of him.

Ladybug ripped the sash in half as the evil Akuma was released. "No more evil for you little Akuma. Time to deevilize!" Swinging her yoyo she snagged the butterfly purifying it. "Bye bye little butterfly." Tossing the airbag into the air she shouted, "Miraculous Ladybug!" A loveliness of ladybugs swarmed all over the city fixing the damage that had been done as the Mayor returned to the normal, confused how he ended up there.

"Pound it!" the two heroes shouted in delight as Peace Keeper stood off to the side smiling. With their help, she fixed her mistake. Leaving them be for a second, she walked over and held out her hand to Mr. Bourgeois. "Need a hand?"

"Thank you miss," he said heartedly as he climbed to his feet. Already what had happened to him was fading deep into his subconscious, but he remembered what had initially caused his transformation. "I apologize for causing so much trouble."

* * *

Peace Keeper nodded and waved Captain Tremaine over. "Right now I think it's best for everyone if you to the police station to answer some questions and get some real rest. I'm sure everything will be worked by tomorrow." Mr. Bourgeois nodded and let Captain Tremaine take him into custody. He waved goodbye to her and she did in return.

Hearing the first beeping of the Miraculous, she turned back to the heroes and whispered. "We should start heading back to the facility." She raised her hands in calming motion before whispering, "I'll need help getting rid of the information I gathered on you two." Relaxing as smidgen the three of them bounded off back towards the facility. They were halfway there when the heroes only had one minute.

The two heroes looked at each other. After everything that happened maybe they should know each others identity as they came to stop on a roof. They looked at each other trying to get a read on the others feelings.

Seeing their indecision, Peace Keeper pulled out the Kwamiis food. "It's none of my business and I'm probably the last person to give you advice on sharing identities. It's just, do you want to know each other because you _fee_ l it's the right time to learn or do you _want_ to know because it feels like an obligation after everything that has happened."

The heroes only pondered this for a few seconds before ducking behind different chimneys. After everything they'd been through it would make sense to want to know each others identity, but the timing didn't feel right. Soon, but not just yet, would they trust the other with their identity. When they were ready, they continued their run back to the facility.

Ten minutes later the heroes' were led down to the secret catacombs. For the first time, they saw that no one else was here except for updated animatronics and robots just as they were told. Anger flared up again in their mind as Peace Keeper took them into the control room. They sat down at the restored table. The UN agent offered them some refreshments, but they shook their heads. They wanted to get this over with.

Peace Keeper removed her mask and took off her gloves/wristbands and laid them on the table before dropping her belt on it and shoved it towards them. "I await your punishment for me for what I have done to you. No apology or repent for my actions could ever undo the psychological and physical damage I caused you. I captured you, held you against your will, and harmed you."

She paused for a minute, her hands shaking. The next part of this apology would be the most difficult thing she ever had to say. "Doing my job and obeying direct orders from my superiors, is no excuse to intense methods of interrogation and the torture I used. I should have listened to my own instincts and disobeyed direct orders no matter what punishment I would receive for my actions. I was trying to do the right thing, to protect France and its peace, but instead my actions put everyone in danger. If I had allowed myself to remember about the Miraculous instead of pushing them away and focusing on my mission, this could have been avoided.

After destroying the data on you two, I'll take any punishment you give me and swear to never return to France let alone Paris." Finishing her apology she hung her head down awaiting punishment.

* * *

For the first time since Adrien met Plagg he was astonished when the Kwamii held back his power, weakening his wielder. _"What are you doing Plagg? It doesn't matter that she fixed her huge mistake. What she did was beyond inhumane and if she wants to be punished then why not?"_

 _"I've never seen you so bloodthirsty and vengeful_ Chat Noir. _What she did to you was greatly wrong, but tell me, why does an akumatized human, who caused terrible pain and damage to the masses and the city, not invoke the same feelings of bloodthirst and vengeance?"_

 _Adrien couldn't believe he was being asked this. By his lazy, unhelpful, whiny Kwamii. "Akumas aren't aware of what they're doing. Hawkmoth is in control of their actions. They have no choice in the matter, their victims."_

 _"Are they Adrien? You're father manages to keep his emotions under control, but the akumas are targeted because they lose control of their anger. Maybe they should be held responsible for their actions while akumatized, same with the people they put under their spell."_

 _"What are you babbling on about Plagg?"_

 _The Kwamii had to be giving a grim grin as he spelt out what he was trying to say. "Peace Keeper is a lot like an akuma you idiot! Her masters are no different than Hawkmoth when he targets a person. He controls them and forces them to do things they don't really want to do. Before you say she has free will take a look at your own life. You also have free will, but how many times did that help you get what you really wanted in life or out of a situation you didn't feel comfortable in?"_

Ladybug was also communicating with Tikki, her mind full of confusion as she tried to understand why Peace Keeper should be given another chance and not judged so harshly for doing her job. _"I don't understand Tikki. Yes, her job is very important and she sounds sincerely sorrowful for what she put me and Chat through. Still, what kind of job forces someone to make choices that cause such big mistakes?"_

 _"Being Ladybug does. Remember what I told you about Yindi? She was motivated by her clans struggle for survival. At times, she wanted to use her powers to really get back at the settlers for the pain they caused her personally. In fact, the day after she escaped and found Night Cat, Yindi wanted to destroy the settlement because their expansion threatened her home. She believed her actions would be approved of because she was doing her job to protect the innocent."_

 _"Destroy it, but that means everyone in it. Not just the criminals or the people who hurt her and Night Cat. A lot of the people in town had nothing to do with the conflict. Did she go through with it?"_

 _"She almost did until Night Cat stopped her. He reminder her that many of the settlers were families trying to make a fresh start unaware their actions were causing of trouble. He told her that her job was to protect people and help them learn from their mistakes. Many that were caused by fear."_

 _Ladybug recalled the moment in the Bataclan Theater. The seats filled with hostages and bodies already on the ground with blood spilling everywhere. For the first time since being Ladybug she was truly fearful for her life as she took on the terrorists. One gunman had nearly shot her to death if the police hadn't shown up at that moment._

 _"That terrorist attack had everyone on edge. Too many attacks and death were occurring. No matter what anyone did, they never could catch everyone in time to prevent the attack. I understand now why she was so aggressive. Too many lives would have been at stake if she was wrong about us."_

 _"I think you're starting to understand what I'm trying to tell you."_

* * *

Peace Keeper kept her head down awaiting punishment or at the very least beaten with in an inch of her life. She deserved it and whatever punishment the UN Security Council decided was right for failing a mission. Maybe she should continue to punish herself. Was doing her job really as important as the Miraculous users was? They were true peace keepers in every sense and never made mistakes.

She felt someone touch her hand and give it a small squeeze. Chat Noir squeezed it again as she looked up. Ladybug took her other hand. The two heroes shared a look confusing the woman even more.

"My mot…mother use…to tell…me something important when I was a little kid," Chat Noir whispered softly. His eyes were a bit teary as he continued. "She taught me the importance of letting go of your anger and hatred towards others. That if I held on to them to long, I find myself trapped in a cycle unable to find a way out."

He paused, a memory of his young mother listening as he cried about having another model steal a toy from him and then broken. He was so angry, he wanted to hurt the kid. He could hear her voice so clearly.

 _"I know it's hard to do, but you have to let go of your anger and forgive someone for their misdeeds. People have done things to me too. Sometimes, I can't imagine why I should forgive them. I have to wake up each day and remind myself that forgiving someone is hard, but holding on to that pain and anger, only hurts worse than deed that was done to me. You don't have to forgive them all at once or fully ever, you just have to try."_

He hadn't realized he said that out loud until Ladybug squeezed his hand. She gave them both a small smile before talking.

"My papa sat me down recently and reminded me of something important. Sometimes you'll meet people in your life that are so horrible and rotten to you, that you wish something bad would happen to them. Sometimes something bad does happen or it doesn't. The result is some people change and others stay the same. The important thing is that you don't let them bring you down. Instead give them mercy and forgiveness, for they are the ones who will needed it most when their time comes."

What I'm trying to say is, what you did was horrible and it will take me a long time to heal. I see now you're someone who can change and deserves my eventual forgiveness. Right now I accept your apology and I'll give you a second chance. Just remember, you still have to earn my forgiveness."

"Same here, today I'll start to forgive you and not because you fixed your mistake, but because I don't want to be caught in a cycle. Like My Lady said, I'll give you another chance, but you'll have to strive to earn my full forgiveness."

Peace Keeper cried over her mix of emotions. She couldn't believe that after everything she had done, they were willing to give her a chance to earn their forgiveness. It felt really good inside and she hoped it would continue to grow. "Thank you, both of you. I believe I owe you my story. Please, get comfortable, this is going to take a little while."

* * *

 **Thank goodness, I didn't think I get this chapter finished. I wasn't even sure I make it to 6-23-16. Last night around eight pm, the tornado warning system went off, and I found myself in the basement of my apartment building, trying to keep my cat Hinata, from freaking out after I had to shove her into her kennel. Thankfully, the tornado went in the opposite direction and I was allowed to return to my home, but the thunderstorm was so bad I feared my windows would shatter. So I spent have the night on my walk in closet floor because it's the only safe room in my apartment. Glad to be safe and alive.**


	9. Tell me a story

**Thank you everyone who has reviewed, followed, and lastly, favored this story. I have enjoyed your positive feedback a lot. If you want to see the fanart I did for this fic, go to deviant art and use my name Kaliannshevlin, to find my account and look through my gallery to see pictures. Also a friend of mine did a Miraculous video for me on Youtube. Her name is Diz diz, so either you can find the video through her or try to find it by using the title Kalis Movie. Lastly, the next part of this trilogy, Sleeper Akuma, will be posted on July 14th so I'll see you then.**

* * *

Peace Keeper rocked on the balls of her feet, trying to figure out how to tell her life story. It was still weird for anyone outside of the close network of the Security Council to know who she really was. How did anyone explain a secret existence to two teenagers, ones who were using Miraculous? Well this generation was all about high tech and videos, maybe that would help.

Getting up from the table, she walked over and got her special laptop. "I don't know if either of you know a lot about computers, but right now I'm using a virus to wipe out any information I've obtained about you. With my photographic memory, I can recall all of it anyways. After is finished, were going to have to destroy the hard drives of the computer system here to prevent recovery efforts."

Turning around, she brought the laptop over and started using a program to project 3D videos in the air. "Did you know that the UN has prevented more conflicts than the world realizes? The five departments have resolved conflicts, brought war criminals to justice, and kept the world from destroying itself a million times over. The Peacekeepers even won the Noble Peace Prize in nineteen eighty eight. My story begins a few years before that."

A classified video played where a secret meeting of all the nations that were part of the UN in January nineteen eighty five had been conducted. The entire Security Council meeting hall was packed in every corner with representative instead of the usual fifteen. Everyone was talking at once, until President Claude de Kemoularia of France, called the meeting into order.

"I welcome all of you to this momentous occasion. Never before have had we all gathered here together for such an important reason. The future of the UN and our prized Peacekeeper Force will be determined here today," he stated to the whole crowd who murmured in agreement. "As you know the future our world faces is expected to be full of changes of both good and bad. Many of our data analysts have used the data every representatives has gathered over the last few months. I acknowledge and thank you for your hard work in spite of the difficulties and trust issues from your governments, to help us in our never ending endeavor to bringing the world together in a positive and peaceful manner."

The representative from Peru spoke up asking what the projections had shown. As the five permanent members responded breaking down the projections. As the projections were read the different countries started to debate and settle on a multitude of issues. Halfway through the video, Peace Keeper paused it. "The projections showed there would be a technological revolution, an increase in ethnicity and religious conflicts, along with break downs of different governments. It was a scary and horrible future to imagine. It was decided then by all members of the UN and the Security Council that they would need to change to prepare for this challenging time. At that meeting, Project Peace Keeper truly began. A project that would create the ultimate peacekeeper, security enforcer, and secret agent that would be loyal the whole world and do whatever it took to ensure peace."

* * *

Chat Noir blinked his eyes and sputtered, "What do you mean create a person loyal to the world? That's impawssible. It's not like they could take hundreds of different DNA strands and mix them together to create you," he joked until he saw the serious look the woman was giving him. "That's what happened? How, I mean the Human Genome Project started in nineteen nighty and wasn't completed until two thousand and three. The technology didn't exist."

Ladybug stared at her partner trying to merge a knowledgeable and scientific encephalon with the witty, care free, annoying person. Surely if Chat Noir was this smart he wouldn't goof off so much when they were fighting an Akuma. She almost missed Peace Keeper explanation about how governments hid the fact that they were much further in genetics then the public was aware of during her creation.

In a matter fact tone of voice, Peace Keeper narrated the videos on the project, showing scientists picking and choosing DNA bits and deciding to make her female because too many governments underestimated females and it was a bit easier to disguise a female as a male then vice versa. How from development until her birth from a surrogate they started to teach her, due to babies being able to hear during development. Her birthday was October twenty sixth nineteen eighty seven, the same number as the code used to activate her.

Ladybug interrupted the story right as Peace Keeper was about to go into her childhood. "Wait a minute, what's your real name? Who took care of you when you were a baby? Where did you grow up? What about the basics?"

"I don't have a name other than Project Peace Keeper. I'm sure the UN has some kind of birth certificate and related information hidden somewhere. I grew up in a series of bunkers under the UN building in New York. I've always been cared for by different handlers and teachers. No one outside the Security Council knew I existed. The whole point of the project was to create a resource that could be utilized to help keep the peace," she replied in confused tone. Didn't Ladybug pay attention to the video?

The teens and their Kwamiis could barely comprehend this information. No real name, just a project designation? No parents or guardians to care for her, just handlers and teachers? Did she see herself as a resource or a person? How do you become an agent of peace if no one was supposed to know you existed?

"Please don't look at me like that. I know it sounds bad, and I can tell you can somewhat relate to that Chat Noir, but it wasn't all bad. I knew from an early age what my destiny was and it made me feel very proud that I was being trained and raised in a strict, slightly conditioned manner if it meant I could help the world someday."

The video showed different moments of her childhood. Her toddler toys had been complex puzzles to help sharpen her mind. During story time she learned about different cultures. She even started training in self-defense at three. By the time she was six and half, she could read, write, and speak in six different languages, could name the capitals of a hundred different countries as well as the current leaders, and had the athletic skills of a normal nine year old.

"It was hard work and at times, I wanted to break down and cry. The handlers always tried to make sure I was happy, it was okay to fail once and awhile. I didn't act out very much being an obedient child. I was so excited when I was told I'd be going on my first "mission" when I was six and half." She chuckled lightly. A dreamy expression appeared on her face. "As I recall, the most important thing I was looking forward to was seeing the sun in person for the first time."

Hearing that made the Miraculous Wielders jaws dropped. She hadn't been outside until she was six and half? If the Security Council had wanted to create the perfect peacekeeper, both thought her training should have been vastly different. They were finally starting to understand why their Kwamiis told them to not judge the young woman at first glance.

"I traveled with my handlers and some Chinese representatives to Beijing in nineteen ninety three. The city was going through several changes ranging from environmental to politics. The crime rate was on the rise as the government tried to sniff out dissents still running free for participating in the nineteen eighty nine democratic movement," she explained to them. She paused for a second as she fiddled with her hands. The massacre of Tiananmen Square had been her first real lesson on understanding about countries differing beliefs of how the leaders of a government wanted to run the country against the people it was supposed to represent.

"What did they expect a six and half year old to accomplish in a one of the largest cities in the world? You couldn't do anything to change the situation that was occurring," Ladybug pointed out. Chat Noir nodded his head in agreement. At that age, kids should have parents protecting them from harm, not being thrown into dangerous situations.

"My mission was to gain field experience. To observe social interactions, learn to blend in with a crowd, get a taste of life outside of my bunkers. I was disguised to look like a traditional girl visiting the big city with my relatives. My orders were simple. Don't talk to anyone, listen to my handlers so I didn't make a scene. Most important, if by the slim chance we got separated turn the tracker in my comb on and wait for someone to come get me. I had no idea that first mission would change my life forever," she whispered. Unconsciously, she pulled out her charm and started rubbing it. In her mind, the final locks on her suppressed memory came undone as she once more allowed herself to remember what had happened so long ago.

* * *

 _Flashback._

 _No, no, no! How could this happen to me, the little six and half year old thought frantically. The mission had been going smoothly. She had been holding tightly to her handlers' hands as they crossed a busy intersection. There had been so many people, that she didn't realize that she was being swept away by the crowd._

 _She had been carried clear across to a different street. She frantically looked around for her handlers, but all she saw was a blur of faces and cars rushing past. The buildings went up very high blocking out most of the sun. Her senses were becoming overwhelmed by everything happening around her. Peace Keeper stayed right where she was hoping they come find her. After all the tracking chip in her hair comb must be working. Unless she was too far out of range for them to pick it up._

 _As more people walked past her at a rapid pace she was once again swept around by the crowd. Didn't they find it odd that a little girl was all by herself in the big city? Perhaps they thought she belonged with someone in the crowd? Squeezing out of the crowd, she managed to get into an alley way. "Okay, so assess the situation. My handlers have lost me and I have no idea where I am. My tracker is not working and I'm forbidden to speak to anyone." Wrapping her arms around herself tightly, she tried to think of a plan. Maybe she could find her way back to the government building she started at. Chinese, either Madeiran or Cantonese, was not one of the languages she knew, but her recently discovered photographic memory could help her back track. Fixing her tracking hair comb and dusting off her traditional dress, she reentered the busy sidewalks, hoping for the best._

 _Two hours later she had ended up in the older part of the city that was being demolished to make way for new buildings. Slipping into another alley way, Peace Keeper came to a stop. Her stomach was growling for food and her feet ached from all that walking. "I should have been more observant earlier that way I wouldn't be lost."_

 _The sounds of glass breaking and men screaming came from down the alley. Curious and desperate for help, she followed the sounds hoping someone could help her. In her naïve state, how could she have known that she would encounter a street gang that wanted to have "fun" with her? Ten minutes later she was running down the alley way trying to activate her tracker once more and suddenly she tripped scraping herself up._

 _The scraps hurt a lot! The sting refused to lessen. Pushing herself up she felt gravel digging into the palms of her hands and the right side of her face. Someone kicked her back the ground, Turning herself over she found herself surrounded by twelve boys each wearing the same type of shirt with Chinese letters spelling out something. Eleven boys had pulled out knives and the leader, who was the tallest of the bunch, aimed a gun at her._

 _Frozen in fear, she broke her silence calling out in English, "HELP!" The man with the gun hit her with it before cocking it. Before he could pull the trigger, a medium size rock on chain, struck the gun with enough force breaking it in two. The weapon whirled around in the air before slamming back down on the leader's head hard enough that he went down._

 _The other eleven boys turned around wondering who attacked them and Peace Keeper got a good look at who had come to her aid. Only three words could describe him. Awesome old peacekeeper!_

 _The elderly man was dressed in yellow green body suit with a hooded beak shape mask covering his face. The shell on his back was speckled with different colors and around his waist was silver holder for the meter hammer he was currently using. A glowing green bracelet in the shape of a turtle was on his right wrist. There were stretchy flaps on the edges of his arms and feet. When he stepped into a puddle the fringe expand for a second._

" _Of course, he can go from land to water mode depending on his environment. That makes him extremely useful. The shell's strong enough to repel those knives, but light weight to allow him to move at high speed," she whispered to herself. The meteor hammer he used was perfect for offensive and defensive moves at the same time. Despite his age he was winning against the street gang as he deflected the knife from one attacker and used the other part of the weapon hit a gang member in the gut making him go down._

 _That's when she saw the leader getting back up as he pulled a second piece from his waistband. He was aiming for the elderly peacekeeper's heart! "Look out!" she shouted in English alerting the man to the trouble as she wrapped her little body around the gunman's legs throwing off his sense of balance._

 _He viciously tried to kick her off, but she held on. With him distracted the elderly man was able to subdue him with ease. He picked her up off the ground and started jumping up the sides of the building. Right before they reached the roof he sensed something. He pulled her close to his chest before clapping his hands together and spreading them wide as he shouted "Shell Guard." A massive turtle shell formed around them protecting them from gunfire. When the shots stopped, he released the protective shell and started running as fast as he could._

 _There was a beeping sound and looking at the bracelet, she saw one flipper stop glowing. The man cursed and mumbled something to her that she couldn't understand, only that she was getting sleepy. Her eyes fluttered as greenish yellow light covered him. She caught a glimpse of her savior's face before closing her eyes and falling to sleep._

 _The smell of rice and jasmine tea woke Peace Keeper up. Her hands weren't hurting anymore and something soft was gently adhering to her skin. Reaching up to touch her face, gave her the first glimpse of her hands. Someone had taken care of her injuries and bandaged them. Getting off the flat bed she made another discovery._ " _Who gave me this outfit and where's my tracker?" Her outfit had been removed and she was in a very comfortable everyday wear. She bumped into a vanity near the bed. Rubbing her side, the little girl noticed her tracker was next to a small hand mirror. After pocketing the tracker, the little girl couldn't resist seeing her reflection and saw her real self and not the painted up fake she had been. She felt a shift in the room as another person entered._

 _Putting down the mirror she faced the presence and was surprised to see the elderly peacekeeper, now in a Hawaiian print shirt and white pants, carrying a tray with two bowls of rice and cups of jasmine tea. "I'm glad to see you awake young one. I was worried about you for a little bit. I've made us a late dinner. I hope you like it," he said in perfect English with only a bit of an accent._

 _The old man laughed at her surprised expression. "You seemed not to understand Chinese when Sea Green Turtle dropped you off at my humble abode. He mentioned that you were screaming for help in English. I'm known as Master Fu. Can you tell me your name?"_

 _Peace Keeper bit her lip unsure what to say. Could she really trust this man? He was pretending he hadn't been the same man that saved her. Maybe Sea Green Turtle was his designation when he was in the field and Master Fu was an alias. It would be okay to talk to another peacekeeper right? "Are you a specialized peacekeeper too Sea Green Turtle? You don't have to pretend to be a civilian around me, you're wearing the same bracelet and I thought it was your face I saw before I took that nap. I'm Project Peace Keeper. I'm training to be the world's best peace keeper ever!"_

 _Master Fu raised his eyebrows as his wrinkles seemed to widen. This child saw through the magic glamor that protected him? What did she mean when she told him she was a peace keeper in training? When he had cleaned her up earlier her disguise came off making him wonder further about the child he had rescued. He needed to learn more about this girl. "Your designation is quite long my child. Would you mind if I called you by a nickname?" The girl nodded saying that she was ready to receive her alias from him. "Do you like the name Ning Sun? In my language it means peaceful grandchild." The child practice saying it a few times before nodding in enthusiasm._

 _Peace Keeper, no Ning, had to remember she was using an alias now, found she enjoyed the company of the old man. She had a billion questions she wanted to ask, but wouldn't it be rude to Sea, no Master Fu, is she spent their meal talking? I'll just ask him some questions after dinner. She intended to finish her bowl of rice when she felt something tingling in her mind._

 _As if in a trance, she left the bedroom ignoring Master Fu voice as she made her way through the private living quarters to the business area of the building. It was an antique shop that appeared to be in the state of being packed up. On a shelf behind the cash register was a black and red box with gold inlays with colored charms on it. Peace Keeper/Ning wanted to touch it, but held herself back._

" _Ning, what are you doing? Are you alright child?" Master Fu asked her. His words seemed to be coming from far away. In her mind, she heard the whispers of seven different voices. One was much clearer and louder than the others. The green turtle like charm flashed before her eyes._

 _The sound of angry pounding on the door broke the trance. Master Fu ordered her to hide, but she couldn't leave the box on the shelf. Even with the charms it wouldn't be safe. Without hesitation, she snatched the box off the shelf and hid herself in antique cupboard locking herself in. She held her hands tightly around the box, her fingers grazing the turtle charm. "Please don't let the bad person find us, please don't let the bad person find us."_

 _She was completely unaware of the shell shield forming around her or that the orange fox like one touching her wrist covered her in orange dust making her vanish from sight. Peace Keeper/Ning kept her eyes closed listening to the comforting voices telling her it would be alright as the sounds of destruction and threats could be heard._

 _Fifteen minutes later all was calm and she relaxed as the force field and dust vanished. The door to the cabinet opened up and Master Fu took her out a delightful smile on his face. He noticed her clutching the box tightly and witnessed as all seven charms glowed for a few seconds before dulling again._ " _Ning, why did you take the box, and how did you, manage to avoid being seen when the realtors busted in and searched the cabinet?"_

" _I don't know Master Fu. All I know is the charms wouldn't be enough to keep the box safe from greedy hands. I heard voices in my head as I hid, seven of them, all telling me it would be okay," she replied. Looking at the box she was overcome with the power from within. "It must be protected from evil always."Her eyes glazed over as she fingered each charm one by one. Whatever was in this box, was more valuable then anything in the world.  
_

 _A tiny voice spoke up coming from the man's pocket telling Fu he'd never sensed someone so in tuned with the Kwamii Charms or had such fierce spirit to protect the Miraculous box. A green turtle with a little antenna on his head levitated over to Peace Keeper/Ning. "My name is Wayzz and I'm the Kwamiis whose power you borrowed along with one of my family members. What you did was very brave." His antenna wiggled sensing the child was in awe of him and not afraid.  
_

" _My partner is right. For someone who has never used magic before, you handled the Kwamii charms perfectly." She didn't know what either was talking about, but hearing their praise made her feel like she had done something right. "Thank you for the kind words. I wish I could learn more from the two of you. You're great peace keepers, no what's the word, oh heroes! Only I need to get back to my handlers. I hope my punishment for not completing my mission won't be too harsh."_

 _A bargain had been struck that would benefit both of them. Master Fu had to finish packing and sending off his antiques before the shop was torn down to make way for a new building. The money he received would help the hero set up his healer's shop in Paris and fund him for the rest of his days. Peace Keeper/Ning promised to help him with the chores in exchange for learning social skills and stories about the seven Kwamii Charms and seven Miraculous. Once they were finished, he would take her back to her handlers._

 _The next three days passed quickly as they worked. Peace Keeper/Ning loved learning the history of objects and chasing after Wayzz who would tell her stories about his friends and the powers of the different Miraculous. Master Fu taught her all sorts of skills and opened up her mind to the possibility that having a sense of self wasn't going against her superiors rules. Sharing meals, being held and laughing together, made her feel weird, but good at the same time. She wondered if this feeling was the bond her handlers described when they taught her about family units._

 _On the morning of the fourth day, Master Fu and Wayzz, hidden in the man's pocket, held Peace Keeper, no Ning's hand tightly, making sure they wouldn't be separated in the crowd. As they made their way to the government building the child had remembered, he quizzed her on what story they had discussed._

" _I tell them that I got lost and my tracker broke when I tripped on the side walk and scraped myself up. A local healer patched me up and gave me a new outfit out of kindness. It took me a few days, but I finally found my way back. During that time, my disguise came off," she stated in her sophisticated adult like voice._

" _Good Ning, what are you not going to talk about," Wayzz asked from his hiding spot._

" _What happened at Master Fu's. The Miraculous and the Kwamiis are very important and need to be kept safe from anyone who would use them for evil. That magic is real, but no one must know about it. If I say I believe in magic, let them assume that I'm talking about the cultural aspect of the topic."_

 _They were getting close to the building. The trees, signs, and smells were very familiar to her. In the distance she could just make out the building. "We're almost there! I hope my handlers are still waiting for me." Sensing the man's back was starting to hurt, she suggested they rest on a nearby park bench. After all a few more minutes together was not a big deal.  
_

" _I'm going to miss you Master Fu. You helped me so much, especially teaching me how to be an even better peace keeper with all your little wisdom's. Will you miss me?" The little girl scrunched her nose and patted his hand, trying in her own way to be cute.  
_

" _Very much Ning. You have been like the granddaughter I never had and been a true friend to Wayzz. In fact, he has a gift for you." Making sure the coast was clear, Wayzz zipped out and levitated in front of the little girl before placing his Kwamii Charm in her outstretch hand. "Remember, this charm allows you or the Great Guardian, to channel a tenth of my power in an emergency situation. It will also alert you if there are any Miraculous users nearby by linking with their Kwamiis. Protect this charm at all times and look to it for guidance when you aren't sure what to do next. We'll hear you and try to help."_

 _Peace Keeper made that promise and hugged them both tightly goodbye when the trio reached the building. As she was greeted by her handlers and listening to them ask her questions while simultaneously being told her punishment, she used her mental powers to suppress the memories of the last few days, to prevent her from accidentally mentioning them. Only the hidden charm would be her daily reminder of what had occurred during her time away._

 _Flashback end_

* * *

Peace Keeper opened her palm and finally let the two heroes see the Kwamii Charm. It really did look like a turtle with an antenna on its head. Both their Kwamiis confirmed the charm was connected to the "brother" Wayzz. "No matter what the situation, I always managed to hide my precious charm from my handlers. I didn't want them to take it away from me. After my mission, for a time, I talked like magic was real and was seriously punished for it." She clutched the charm tightly letting its warmth spread throughout her.

"Even with the memories suppressed and the charm my only active link to the memories, I did take to heart some of the lessons I learned during that time. I owned the name Peace Keeper, by making my alias direct translations or equivalents. Nicole Gardien translates, victory of the people's guardian. I have two hundred and forty aliases and histories attached to them. A good portion of them are males."

Ladybug studied some of the portfolios Peace Keeper offered them. They were very detailed, with realistic backgrounds, fake birth certificates, even a list of acquaintances and expertizes. Nowhere listed in these portfolios were friends or family. These were characters to play and then put away once they were done. "You memorized all of these?"

Peace Keeper nodded and anticipated Chat Noir's question. "You've been wondering about the rest of my childhood and are curious to know what my punishment would have been had not followed orders?" The kitty nodded and for a split second Adrien pushed through trying to emphasize with her. " If I failed to follow orders in this case, I would have been sent back for retraining and you two would have ended up in a French prison with hard core police that would have eventually broke you two and made sure you disappeared from the public and might have gone after your families to see if they were traitors. My punishments could range from me being locked up the bunkers and not see anyone for a few days or go through VR simulations reliving failures or incidents of great horrors. When I was ten, they decided I was old enough to begin torture resistance training, though I secretly thought maybe they wanted me to stop trying learn more about micro cultures, small communities in an area that differ from the majority of the country."

Chat Noir's eyes widen upon hearing she went through torture as well. Why would a UN Security Council, who wanted to her to be the ultimate peace keeper, stoop to something that went against their constitution? It made no sense at all to him.

" _They needed someone who wouldn't break while doing missions that are probably not sanctioned. You saw the video, they needed someone who would ensure peace no matter what. Reminds me of someone."_

" _Me, she's been conditioned to respond and act in a certain way to please her superiors, just like I try to be perfect for my dad. Her escape from that is holding onto that charm and hoping it gives her the strength be herself."_

" _I was wondering when your dense head would figure that out."_

Ladybug listened as Peace Keeper finished talking about her life. Going on missions since she was sixteen. How her missions were decided by the Security Council and its president was her direct superior. A perfect record of completed missions. No wonder she had pushed away the memories she held dear. It was to protect herself from making a fatal mistake. "What happens next, to you and us?"

* * *

There was loud chirp heard. Looking at the laptop it had finished erasing everything, except a very short, but impressive report to be sent to President Hollande and President Aboulatta about the heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir. Urging them over they saw the reports carried basic information, like their heroes' names, height and estimated weight. The most important thing was the briefing on their character describing them in a positive manner and declaring at this time, the technology they used was beyond understanding and labeled it magic for the time being. There were also a few recommendations that would help protect them both in the future. "Permission to email these? We're sure to get an answer in less than twenty five minutes."

With their permission, she sent the reports and then readied her laptop for the incoming Skype call. She didn't have to wait long as she predicted. Less than twenty five minutes later, both Presidents called her as she made it a three way chat. "Greetings Presidents Hollande and Aboulatta. I see that you both received my final report. There are few minor details that I wish to discuss with both of you. I hope it's alright that Ladybug and Chat Noir listen to the conversation since it has to do with them."

"Of course. To the two of you, I thank you for helping to save my life and restoring our beloved city to normal. You're recommendations about them, does fit in with the kind of favor I was willing to give you."

"Excuse me, President Hollande, but I believe that Peace Keeper's report is slightly inaccurate. It's missing some very important details and I'm not sure she was being completely honest on some parts of it."

The teens tensed for a second, but Peace Keeper stood her ground. Looking directly at her superior she started speaking in rapid Arabic. President Aboulatta responded, his tone slightly annoyed and a bit angry. Peace Keeper continued to push through arguing her case. She even snatched up the book on animal myths flipping the pages until it showed a myth from his native Egypt. Tapping the page, she continued to argue. He responded back his tone changing slightly. His eyes went from her to the masked teens, back to President Hollande, who gave his opinion in broken Arabic.

The Security Council President let out a breath. Finally he agreed to something causing a smile to appear on Peace Keeper's face. He was writing something down as he made a promise, but in warning tone, he indicated whatever the topic they had been talking about she was in charge. Finally, he switched back to speaking in French. "The Security Council will be notified that France has solved its security issue and once again in good standing. The Peacekeepers Force will withdraw and return to New York in three days. This mission is complete." He then signed off leaving only President Hollande on the line.

"I hope you're ready for the responsibility that you agreed to young woman." Peace Keeper inclined her head indicating she was. "Ladybug and Chat Noir, please step forward." Peace Keeper moved aside so the heroes could look at their country's leader properly. "On Peace Keeper's recommendation as well as my own conclusions, in three weeks you will be honored at the Elysian Palace, and officially given rank as Special Forces: Unusual Incidents Division. Not only will you be recognized as the heroes you are, but given legal rights and protection by the government. You'll be given full details on what to expect. Can I count on you two?"

Chat Noir flashed a grin as his tail twitched in excitement. This was a great opportunity and hopefully it would prevent another incident like this one from occurring. "You can count on us Mr. President. We won't fail you."

"What will happen to Mayor Bourgeois? As an Akuma victim he's not responsible for his actions during that time period."

"Correct Ms. Ladybug, however he was responsible for his actions that led to his arrest before his akumatization. However, the unusual circumstances combined with what has occurred during this semi state of emergency, means I have to deal with this problem in an unusual manner."

President Hollande went on to explain that there had been leaked media about the Mayor's actions as Emperor. Public opinion strongly believed that the Mayor's anger resulted from his frustrations that he still couldn't keep his town one hundred percent safe. That his kidnapping of the President had been part of twisted desire to be the one to keep the whole country safe.

With the truth of his conspiracy and actions still not public knowledge, coupled with the missing hours needed to hold him, the former Mayor would be returning home. That didn't mean he would automatically get his job back. For the next three years of his new term, he would be a figure head and take a drastic hit in pay. The real power would belong to Deputy Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Every decision he made would be scrutinized and the money he'd hidden would be returned to where it belonged. At the end of his term, he would face prosecution for his crimes and serve his time. The last mandate was that his daughter, the source of what had driven him to his misconduct, would be attending a special finishing school to learn how to be a proper member of society and a decent human being. Inside Ladybug was cheering that Chloe would finally be punished for her behavior.

After summarizing everything, the President bid the group good-bye. "This is so amazing, I'm not even sure I'm awake."

"Trust me My Lady, you are! We're going to formally recognized by the President of France!" He swung his head towards Peace Keeper as his cat ears wiggled. "So what did your superior and you argue about?"

"Me having my own international team of peacekeepers. It was proposed about two years ago that the Security Council start to look for people who could assist me in different countries. I can't do this all by myself. You two are the first ones to join Project Peace Keeper International," she explained handing them credentials and identification. "That is if you want to. You wouldn't have to leave France, seeing as it your domain, but if I need assistance, I can call upon on the two of you for help. If you needed my help I would come an assist you."

In response, they shook Peace Keeper's hand and agreed to it. The three of them would rebuild their trust through this and one day in the distant future, Peace Keeper, would earn their forgiveness in its entirety. After all, shouldn't Miraculous and Kwamii Charm holders work together?

* * *

Suddenly Ladybug remembered she had been missing for nearly three days. Her parents and friends had to be frantic with worry! "We need to get home. I'm sure our families are worried about us."

Chat Noir winced. He didn't know if his dad was aware of his absence, but he was sure going to be in a lot of trouble with Nathalie and the Gorilla back home. He would be lucky if he ever got to leave the mansion after his long absence. "This cat is more worried how long the cat flap will be locked."

Peace Keeper stated she could take each of them home and come up with a cover story and proof to back it up. It might not get them completely out of trouble, but it would make sure no one connect their missing time with their hero counterparts. Still uneasy about trusting her, the duo felt they had no choice in the matter. Once Peace Keeper dressed up as Nicole Gardien once more she led them towards her special taxi. While tinted windows were banned in France, the law said nothing about a tinted barrier in the back seat to keep the heroes from seeing each other in civilian form.

"I'll drop each of you off separately to make sure you don't see each other. We'll start with you Chat Noir, considering your situation. Ladybug, when I stop the car I want you to use the fold out windshield protects, to keep the temperature from rising, but also to obscure your view. Understood?"

Taking a long, twisty way back to the Agreste Mansion, gave time for Adrien to prepare himself. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Father is just going to lock me away again. It took him a whole month to let me out of his sight after the terrorist attacks remember?"

"You shouldn't worry so much Adrien. Calm down and eat some cheese! I still have a month's worth left!" Plagg said as he levitated into the air. He couldn't wait until they were back home. He was going to snuggle up in his favorite sleeping spot and nap for three days straight! Then he could have a cheeseapalooza. Life was great.

Adrien was about to retort only to swallow deeply seeing they arrived at his mansion. Taking a deep breath, he got out of the car and walked to the gates. When the security system saw who it was, the gates opened immediately. Ms. Gardien escorted him inside where he was greeted by an angry Nathalie and the Gorilla, who had a small smile on his face.

"Adrien Agreste where have you been? Do you know how concerned we've been? We've been searching all over for you as best we could with this semi state of emergency. I hope you have a good excuse for leaving school because I have half a mind to tell your father…" Nathalie ranted until Ms. Gardien cleared her throat. The personal assistant had daggers in her eyes seeing the woman standing before her.

"I apologize for this incident Ms. Sinclair, it is entirely my fault. Adrien here had scheduled a meeting with me that day and left the building to contact me since his phone was confiscated to let me know he might be a little late."

"Um, it took a bit to find a phone I could use and by that time, I was late getting back to the school and found myself stuck in a closed off arrondissement. All communication went down meant I couldn't get in touch with anyone. I tried to get back really, but it was getting late and I needed to find a place to sleep," Adrien explained, using his modeling skills to help maintain the lie.

Ms. Gardien explained that she had found the boy and brought him back to her hotel, through the backway to avoid any media that might be lingering around to question the President and his guests. After a good night sleep Adrien had attempted to call them, only for the communications to be out again.

"So we had our meeting. Adrien had come up with an idea for a new specialized line for the Agreste collection. Fashionable outfits with a few touches of native countries for those involved in Model UN. He agreed to model the line if a portion of the profits was donated to support female education growth."

Nathalie looked at Adrien with a slightly surprised expression. Adrien enjoyed modeling, but he had never expressed an interests in helping grow his father's brand. Then again he hadn't expressed any interest in the UN Peacekeepers Force. Maybe exposing him to so many different possibilities had helped the boy understand how the real world worked.

While Nathalie was lost in thought the Gorilla listened and nodded at the appropriate times when his charge and the nice lady explained that because of the Akuma attack, she had asked Adrien to stay put at the hotel while she helped out with the police. It had taken a few hours, but at last the semi state of emergency had been lifted and she took the boy right home.

"I apologize once more for this mix-up. I hope you don't discipline him too harshly. He tried to contact you two multiple times." The silent man nodded and Nathalie seeing how anxious Adrien was, agreed that this one time, he wouldn't punished since he had been trying to help his father's company. Leaving them with a card to contact in the MUN committee to set up the meeting, Ms. Gardien shook hands with Adrien telling him goodbye.

* * *

When Marinette entered the bakery, she was fussed over and hugged by her parents who had a million questions for her. She answered them the best she could going along with the cover story about her being invited to the Peacekeepers temporary HQ. Ms. Gardien had noticed her design talent and had arranged for her to meet with different graphic designers to upgrade the UNICEF design for the different media uses. She had left during math class to find a phone to arrange a pick up for later and had gotten stuck in a closed arrondissement.

"I'm sorry, I didn't tell you about it before. I was just so busy trying to finish my piece for the contest and keep up with school, it completely slipped my mind," Marinette told them, her posture stiff and her eyes downcast. "I know I let you down."

"Oh Marinette, we're just glad that you're okay and back home safely. You gave us such a scare. I don't want to have you disappear again," Sabine mentioned told her daughter as she brushed her fingers through Marinette's dark locks.

"Your mother is right Marinette. I don't want to have to restrict your activities just to know where you are," Tom added.

Ms. Gardien spoke up, "I noticed that Marinette needs a little help with time management. I hope I'm not being a bit forward, but I got her something that could help her with that." She held out a day planner and a watch to the teen. "The planner and the watch are connected. Use the planner to organize your days and then set the alarms on the watch. It will give you a gentle reminder. I think it will help you get to school on time."

Marinette thanked the disguised heroine as did her parents for bringing her home. Sabine gave her a box full of different pastries and bread causing Ms. Gardien to blush. With a final goodbye and wishing Marinette good luck at the contest, the young woman drove to her hotel to get ready for her departure.

* * *

Three days later Nicole/Peace Keeper was waiting at the airport for the announcement to board her plane back to New York. Looking out the windows, she wondered when she would return to this magical place. She considered Marinette and Adrien, as her only friends despite the rocky relationship that existed at the moment. Hopefully next time she was here things would be better.

"Attention passengers. Flight 113 to New York City will be delayed an hour due to low fuel. Again, flight 113 to New York City is delayed for an hour."

The young woman sighed hearing that her flight would be delayed. All she could do is wait for the plane. Hopefully there's enough time to get a quick snack from one of these little shops. Suddenly the smell of tea and damp turtle filled her nostrils. Her Kwamii Charm warmed up in her pocket as a familiar voice said out loud, "Hello Ning. It's been a long time."

"Twenty three years to be exact Master Fu," she replied turning around and seeing the old man standing only a few feet away. He looked exactly as she remembered only a bit more tired. She wondered how he got past security, but right now she didn't care. "I hoped I would see you before I left. Why didn't you show yourself earlier?"

Master Fu brought his finger to his lips shushing her. He started heading to a small café that served tea. She joined him and together they sat at a small table to enjoy their jasmine tea. Wayzz carefully poked his head out from Fu's pant's pocket and floated up until he was hidden in Fu's shirt collar.

"Wayzz, I missed you. Having your charm wasn't the same as seeing you."

The turtle Kwamii nodded as Master Fu allowed him to take a small sip of tea. "You've grown into a beautiful young woman and I don't mean this disguise. I can see your true self underneath this."

"Wayzz is right Ning, it's a shame that you must hide yourself so much," Master Fu whispered. Putting his tea down, he rubbed his Miraculous along with Wayzz making the responding charm fill with warmth again. Taking it out, young woman tried to give it back. "No, you earned that Charm. All these years, you've kept it safe and used its tiny bit of power to protect people from harm."

Nicole/Peacekeeper shook her head. "I'm not worthy of this, not after what has been done. You thought that with the Charm, you could help guide me when I needed it the most." Once again she tried to give it back knowing they must have felt or witnessed what had happened. They had tried to get through to her, but she hadn't listened. A few tears dropped on the table before she wiped them away. "I'm not the same little girl you rescued. Ning Sun, has been buried too long," she whispered. Ning Sun, the only true name anyone had given to her, had been far too precious to use as an alias. It had been a long time since she had acted like the carefree, inquisitive, and wonderful child.

Both sipped their tea in silence. Master Fu studied her for a few minutes. Wayzz tugged the man's shirt and whispered quietly to him. Nodding, Master Fu placed his right hand over Nicole/Peace Keeper's. "You made a mistake child. No matter how much training you get, you will never be perfect. I also know deep in your heart you don't want to hurt people. Justice, not revenge, motivates you. That's why you deserve the Charm."

When she looked away from him, he asked her a surprising question. In her last mission in South Sudan, capturing sexual predators in the refugee camps, why did she not simply kill them, especially the ones, she knew the South Sudanese government, wouldn't punish them?

"How do you know about that?" she whispered. Wayzz waved his stubby arm reminding her of their unique connection. She thought back to her last mission before Paris. The one she had thought that had been an easy walk to this one.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _It was the dead of night as Peace Keeper slipped out of the refugee camp, in her special suit, heading to the hidden prison she had made for the people she had caught. Outside the camp she was met by few women, each beaten badly with scars on their legs. She spoke briefly to them as many believed she was an avenging spirit that had been sent as an answer to their prayers._

" _The men, we have identified them all! You will see them punished?"_

" _Yes, I will. The government will learn to take this horrendous crime more seriously and ensure tougher sentences for the monster caught. I will not stop working for your innate human rights." The women shook her hands and headed back to the safety of the camp. No one would dare touch them again after tonight. Peace Keeper walked a bit further until she reached her hidden prison in some caves. The UN members were being kept in a different cell near the entance. After the South Sudanese government dealt with them, they would return to the US to face more charges_ _and stiff punishments by the UN and the International Court._

 _When she reached the other part of the prison, it took all her self-control to not respond to vicious taunts and threats the men hurled at her. A woman had no right to punish a man, especially and outsider, who didn't know her place._

" _We'll tear you apart girl! You are nothing!"_

" _It is a joke that you believe that we'll be punished! The government will never change. This chaos of civil war and trying to fix so many of our problems so the international complaints will stop coming in!"_

" _We deserve our freedom! We take what we want and that's the way it's always been!"_

 _Peace Keeper kept her silence, knowing about the numerous tragedies and struggles this young country faced. It would take many years and international cooperation to fix the countries problems, but right now, she had a plan to deal with these men, a way to gain a measure of justice._ " _I should have you all killed for what you have done. You have ruined the lives of every woman you touch and have perpetuated a cycle of violence that needs to stop." Her eyes started to glow red thanks to the filter in her mask. She pulled out a gadget from her belt, a sonic disk that would bring the hold place crashing down on them. The men stopped yelling as they saw the seriousness in her eyes. "This device will turn you into sobbing messes and destroy your insides if the falling rocks didn't kill you on impact."_

 _The men were truly scared at that point. Would they be dying tonight? Peace Keeper held the device up, ready to use it, the men closed their eyes waiting for death, but it never came. Instead they heard the shattering of several bottles as a red gas filled their cell. Within minutes the men were yelling out in terror as they fell to the ground gripping their man parts._

 _Peace Keeper silently thanked the herb expert she had visited for helping her create this concoction. Using certain plants to make a pleasant and slightly hallucinogenic native tea, she had a few extra ingredients to increase its potency and use its unintentional side effect that caused swelling of the reproductive parts for a few days. Justice was having these men relive the terror they inflicted on others only this time as the victims. Hopefully the experience would leave a lasting impression._

 _Flashback End  
_

* * *

"Does it matter I didn't kill them? I still made them suffer, that's torture. The night before I left, their male kin tried to attack the woman I saved. I ended up using the Charm to protect us. They backed off and as far as I know, the sexual assault rate in that camp has gone down by thirty five percent. I don't see how that makes a difference."

"It makes all the difference when you chose not to kill them. Did you torture them? Some might say yes, some might argue that it was native product that worked like it's supposed to. The point is Ning, you chose to do what you did out of justice, to protect future innocents. That is why you are deserving of this Kwamii Charm, as well as these two."

Master Fu opened his left hand revealing two more charms, in this case, Plagg and Tikki's. Picking up Wayzz's he strung the three charms on a magical thread creating a glamored charm necklace that he placed over her head and let it rest against her skin. Only the person who gave it to her or a Miraculous bearer could see the necklace.

Touching the two new charms, she felt herself connect with Kwamiis. Tikki's optimism came through loud and clear, as Plagg's pride filled her body. They had accepted her as their Kwamii Charms holder. Which could only mean one thing. "You want me to be your apprentice? I couldn't, I'm not the person for the job. How would it even work with the way my life is?" Peace Keeper tried to talk him out of it, but Master Fu reached over and hugged her tightly. The feeling of family and love made her body tingle in delight. She hadn't felt like this is twenty three years.

"I understand that asking you this is a life altering decision, but I believe this is what your true purpose is. To eventually succeed me as the Great Guardian and protect the Miraculous from evil and distribute them when needed." He admitted it would a long and difficult apprenticeship, but he knew his pseudo granddaughter could succeed. There was no one else he trusted enough with this responsibility.

It wasn't a difficult choice after that. Part of her knew this was always wanted she secretly dreamed of since she was six and half years old. Promising to guard the charms with her life, she swore an oath in that little café that she would work hard as his apprentice.

"Attention passengers. Flight 113 to New York City is boarding now. Repeat Flight 113 to New York City is boarding now."

Both adults stood up and walked out of the café. Hugging once more, Master Fu watched as the little girl, now a grown woman headed to her "home." A true peace keeper and hopefully one day, a heroine and Great Guardian in her own right.


End file.
